Help us launch ReVision: Art and Justice—a new multiyear artist-in-residency program that centers the expertise of justice-impacted artists to reshape how millions of visitors understand the American criminal justice system and its impact on the people who’ve experienced it firsthand.

Keep reading to learn more or make a gift now!


"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."  - Edgar Degas

For nearly 200 years, the massive stone walls of Eastern State Penitentiary have stood as a monument to one of the most revolutionary—and controversial—experiments in human history. But within these walls, another history was quietly being written. From the very beginning, incarcerated people used art to reclaim their voices, decorating their cells with hand-painted murals, crafting intricate model ships and beaded bags, and finding ways to express their humanity within a system that sought to diminish it.

This legacy continues today. More than 100 installations have been commissioned since our art program launched in 1995. Over the past three decades, pieces like Jesse Krimes’ Apokaluptein 16389067:II, Mark Loughney’s Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration, and Mark Menjivar’s DLP Mirror have told a more truthful and human story of incarceration in America. We have witnessed firsthand the power of art to open hearts and minds, encourage deep reflection, honor lived experience, dismantle misconceptions, and inspire action toward social change.

Art has always been the heartbeat of resistance and redemption at Eastern State. Today, we are ready to take that legacy into a bold new chapter.

Will you consider making a gift today to launch a groundbreaking effort to provide a new outlet for artists who have been marginalized, misunderstood, and hidden?

 

Introducing ReVision: Art and Justice

We invite you to become a supporter of ReVision: Art and Justice, a new multiyear artist-in-residency program. This initiative isn't just about placing art in a museum; it is about centering the expertise of justice-impacted artists to reshape how millions of visitors understand the American criminal justice system and its impact on the people who’ve experienced it firsthand.

Through ReVision, we are providing a platform for justice-impacted artists to create major installations, and to work closely with our staff, community partners, and visitors on public programs and behind-the-scenes digital storytelling all along the way.

 

Your Support Matters

Your tax-deductible gift today will directly fund:

  • Artist Stipends: Providing fair, professional compensation for justice-impacted creators
  • Materials & Installation: Giving artists the resources to create large-scale, immersive works
  • Public Programming: Hosting talks and workshops that bring the community into the heart of the creative process.

 

Join Us in Rewriting the Narrative

By supporting ReVision: Art and Justice, you are ensuring that the next chapter of Eastern State’s history is defined by empathy, dialogue, and the transformative power of the human spirit.

Will you help us launch this vital program with a gift today?

Your gift today will help make certain this groundbreaking program has the support it needs to ensure its effectiveness as an artistic project, educational opportunity, and model for the future. You will make it possible for artists who might not otherwise ever have a chance to create and exhibit their work at this scale to make a statement that will be seen, felt, and discussed by millions of people.

Thank you for believing in the power of art to shape a more just future.

With gratitude,

Kerry Sautner, Ed.D.
President and CEO