Center
for Art and
Advocacy
Empowering creativity that challenges the limits of incarceration.
Vision
What we do
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Photo credit: Itzel Alejandra Martinez
The Center for Art and Advocacy believes there is an abundance of uncultivated talent and exceptional creativity among individuals who share the lived experience of incarceration.
Photo credit: Maurice Sartirana
At a time when the U.S. leads the world in the criminalization of its most vulnerable populations—often made up of people with marginalized identities—justice-impacted artists remain especially at risk of being under-funded, under-mentored, under-resourced, and disconnected from traditional institutions and arts communities.
The Center is dedicated to removing these barriers and empowering justice-impacted artists across disciplines, recognizing that their distinct creative vision has the power to challenge punitive systems, reshape public discourse, create more connected communities, and inspire movements for justice.
ASIA JOHNSON
OUT OF PLACE (still), 2022
Photo credit: Itzel Alejandra Martinez
To improve outcomes for these artists, we provide financial and community support through: our catalytic Fellowship program, capacity-building Academy and Arts Incubator, exhibition and programming opportunities through our Gallery, and practice exploration through our forthcoming Residency and Retreat in rural Pennsylvania. Through mentorship and professional development, we equip our community with the tools to succeed—helping to reframe our society’s criminal legal narrative, advocating for racial justice and equity, and using art to build, organize, and support local and national movements.
The Center for Art and Advocacy was established in 2022 to serve as a direct path to sustainability and equity for artists directly impacted by the criminal legal system.
Built on the success of the Right of Return Fellowship (ROR), founded in 2016, The Center was created to provide a multi-purposed network that actively engages in the conversation about transformative justice practices and the critical role they play in the arts community-at-large.
As the fellowship grew, and with it the potential for national impact, it became evident that additional resources were needed to thoroughly support and develop those within the talented community of directly justice-impacted artists. The Center is now a legacy project of the Art for Justice Fund, a six-year initiative (2017-2023) established by Agnes Gund and managed by the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to end mass incarceration and underlying racial bias through art and advocacy. Since 2022, the Mellon Foundation has also provided foundational support to develop and sustain The Center.
We are proud of the fact that within the first five years of the establishment of The Center and the Right of Return Fellowship, our fellows have gone on to receive MacArthur Fellowships, Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim Fellowships, Creative Capital Awards, and Art for Justice Grants. A catalytic and first award for many of our fellows, the recipients’ work have been collected and exhibited at museums including MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and MoMA Ps1, amongst many others.
GILBERTO RIVERA
JAIL BIRD III, 2023
