THE Art for Justice Fund founded by a collector, philanthropist and president emeritus of the Museum of Modern Art Agnes Gund to support artists and programs working to end mass incarceration, has named its latest cohort of 20 beneficiaries. Launched six years ago with seed capital of the sale of a precious painting by Roy Lichtenstein from Gund’s collection and supported by subsequent salesthe initiative will end on a high note with the final disbursements from its $125 million reserves.
During its existence, the fund has worked with the Ford Foundation and advisers from Rockefeller Philanthropy to distribute more than 400 grants to more than 200 organizations. Following this latest round of grants, the fund will cease to operate on June 30.
“Artists embody the vitality of our society – they often provide the inspiration, the truth and the mirrors we need to see the world around us. It’s exciting for Art for Justice to fulfill its mission to support artists, including more female artists, who have undoubtedly shaped my life and thinking,” Gund said in a statement. to end mass incarceration, and I hope more donors will support their efforts because our world needs more changemakers.
Divided into two categories of grants, the fund’s ultimate grant recipients include organizations and individuals. This season, organizational funding was awarded to ten organisations, including an initiative at the Brooklyn Museum strengthen Mother’s Day programming that prioritizes family reintegration; Restore Hope Arkansas, a community-based nonprofit, to support a campaign featuring the work of currently incarcerated artists aimed at reducing gang violence; and Las Imaginistas in Brownsville, Texas, to help reduce the impact of incarceration on vulnerable communities near the US-Mexico border.
Another organizational beneficiary is The value increases, an advocacy group seeking to dismantle the commercialization of the criminal justice system. The fund’s support will help expand Worth Rises’ #EndTheException campaign, which aims to erase the 13th Amendment exception to the US Constitution that allows slavery as a “punishment for a crime”, the loophole used to justify abusive labor practices in jails and prisons.
“Since it was Ava DuVernay’s movie 13th who first inspired Agnes to launch the fund, it is fitting that we end our grantmaking with critical support for Worth Rises to expand a national campaign to remove this vestige of legalized slavery from the 13th Amendment of the constitution of the nation,” Helena Huang, the fund’s project director., said in a statement.
“The gift that Art for Justice has given us goes beyond its financial support – Art for Justice has created a community of artists and advocates from which incredible partnerships have spurred critical social impact,” said Bianca Tylek , executive director of Worth Rises.
Beverly Price, WE THE CHILDREN2019 Courtesy of the artist
One of ten individual recipients in this latest cohort is Beverly Price, a photographer and youth advocate working in Washington, DC. “In order for me to pour out into my community through my photography practice and advocacy, I need to have the resources to pour out,” Price said in a statement. “When artists receive this kind of support, both financially and emotionally, we have the power to make structural and social changes that can create a more just world.
Other recipients include Monica Cosby, poet and artist from Chicago; Haley Greenfeather English, painter in Albuquerque; and Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, a New York-based graffiti artist and muralist.
The Art for Justice Fund has focused its advocacy in three main areas: bail reform, sentencing reform, and cultivating reintegration opportunities for people who were previously incarcerated.
