Illinois Humanities funds over a dozen ‘Envisioning Justice’ art projects focused on mass incarceration

Five years ago, nonprofit Illinois Humanities asked state residents to imagine a world without mass incarceration, a city without jails.

This initiative to think about criminal justice as something more fair and equitable resulted in an art exhibition titled “Envisioning Justice” at the School of the Art Institute’s Sullivan Galleries in 2019. Work from commissioned artists, activists, residents of South and West Side neighborhoods, and youths in Cook County Jail and the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center all was on display in the multimedia exhibit.

“That exhibition was meant to be a culmination of the two years of work, but what we heard during that exhibition was ‘this is excellent,’” said Tyreece Williams, program manager for “Envisioning Justice.” “This space felt so sacred and special, we (Illinois Humanities) felt encouraged to continue ‘Envisioning Justice.’”

Illinois Humanities continued the work and expanded the scope with “Envisioning Justice RE: ACTION,” a program that leverages the arts and humanities to think of alternatives to the enduring injustice of mass incarceration. Williams said that while the work isn’t new, the approach they’re taking is.

“We’re hoping people will have these conversations a little bit different from organizing and policy, which seem like the obvious ways in which you can engage,” Williams said. “It’s important for us to be in rooms together with shared context. Bringing people together for a shared experience around an art piece or an exhibition or film, all of those things create access points for folks who aren’t already engaged in the conversation. And for folks who are engaged in those conversations to be brought together. It kind of levels the playing field, when you have that shared experience that you can spark these conversations from.”

Moving away from a predominant Chicago focus, Illinois Humanities took the initiative statewide and awarded 28 grants of $1,000 to over a dozen individuals and organizations to aid in the creation of private and public free events/projects that encourage engagement with “Envisioning Justice RE: ACTION.” The virtual art exhibition features 14 projects with prompts for the public to engage with the causes, impacts and alternatives to the current penal system through lenses of visual art, creative writing and films. The prompts are step-by-step instructions on things people can do on their own or with groups to further engage with the themes in the projects. In-person community events are planned to run through the fall in Chicago, Carbondale, Aurora, East St. Louis, Bloomington, Champaign and Decatur.

“Some of the folks who applied are going to be hosting their family members. Some are going to host a small community group they’re tapped into,” Williams said. “All of the events are varied in scale, so it will be a range of ways in which folks are bringing people together through these activities on the RE: ACTION site.”

For example, a charity in Carbondale will host a free, public music- and art-making event this month inviting guests to use Antonio Burton’s prompt, “To Shape a Mind,” to uplift the experiences of children growing up with parents who are currently or formerly incarcerated.

Meanwhile, a reentry program in Champaign will host a free, public event at the Champaign Public Library that centers on the story of Renaldo Hudson, who won his freedom after serving 37 years.

Additionally, Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, an advocacy collective, will host a panel discussion at the Chicago Torture Justice Center followed by a site visit to the 63rd Street Beach — a place of significance to Gerald Reed, who served nearly three decades under a life sentence that was commuted in 2021 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker amid revelations of torture by Chicago police.

“There are so many conversations to be had, as to why we’ve gotten to this point where we’re incarcerating people and criminalizing them at such disproportionate rates,” Williams said. “There’s issues of poverty and education and class, race, gender, there are so many conversations within this and it’s pretty evident in the works that are featured on the RE: ACTION site.”

The Envisioning Justice program has awarded over $400,000 in grants for justice-focused arts and projects across Illinois since 2017 — both inside and outside of carceral facilities.

Williams said the organization hopes that people who interact with the online activities will also upload their responses and feedback to the RE: ACTION website, so others can see and respond, creating a constellation of folks who are sharing their reflections on the issues and topics covered in the exhibition.

“We just received funding from one of our longtime funders, the Art for Justice Fund to sustain five years of grant-making toward ‘Envisioning Justice,’” Williams said. “So we’ll be around because something that we really value and something that we’ve heard from our partners is the most valuable are the resources that we’re able to provide them to do their work. Illinois Humanities, we’re not an advocacy organization. But what we can do is advocate for new ideas, advocate for new approaches and advocate for new platforms to share how folks are envisioning justice.”

More about the work in the “Envisioning Justice RE:ACTION” exhibition by Illinois Humanities at envisioningjustice.org/exhibitions.

drockett@chicagotribune.com