A Bold New Effort to End Mass Incarceration
The Art For Justice Fund is a five-year initiative that aims to turn art into action, investing more than $100 million into strategic efforts to reform the criminal justice system.
News
The Fund Approves $10.3 Million in Grants in May
Our Approach
Our unique approach is to use funds from art sales and other contributions to fuel policy reform and arts-related initiatives that put a human face on the problem of mass incarceration.
We invest in leading organizations and innovative programs that work to safely reduce the number of incarcerated people in the U.S. and systematically strengthen education and employment options for people leaving jail or prison.
Featured Grantee
Equal Justice Initiative
Confronting racial justice in America and protecting the lives of the most vulnerable.
Featured Grantee
The Actors' Gang
Producing original plays and programs that give hope and emotional fluency to the disenfranchised.
Our Founder
In June 2017, visionary arts advocate Agnes Gund announced that proceeds from the sale of a beloved painting would create a fund to support efforts to reform the American criminal justice system. The Art for Justice Fund builds on her unprecedented generosity in order to drive meaningful change.
— Agnes Gund
Featured News
MAY 25, 2018 | News Roundup
John Legend, The Color of Change and a Powerful New Video on Bail Reform
Recording artist and activist John Legend joined Rashad Robinson—executive director of the Color of Change—to call for an end to money bail in an op-ed in CNN as well as releasing a video outlining why the practice is so unjust.
Read MoreMay 8, 2018 | The Marshall Project
The Connecticut Experiment
Based on scientific evidence on brain development suggesting that people under 25 are still prone to impulse, a new program in Connecticut provides rehabilitative support to youthful offenders to curb the chance of recidivism.
Read MoreMay 8, 2018 | Pacific Magazine
How Over-Incarceration is Driving a Push for Criminal Justice Reform
An interview with the Vera Institute of Justice’s Jasmine Heiss about a recent poll that uncovers American's souring sentiment toward incarceration policy.
Read MoreApril 27, 2018 | 60 Minutes
Bryan Stevenson and the Memorial to Victims of Lynching
The Equal Justice Initiative's Bryan Stevenson discusses why he created a lynching memorial and legacy museum and says we need to reconcile the history of lynching if we want to move forward on criminal justice reform.
Read More