ART FOR JUSTICE
PRISONER ART FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Luis S. Gonzalez - "Noodle Soup" and " Pill Line"
Luis S. Gonzalez - "I Still Remember"
Charles Z. Lawson - "We The People"
AfJ Director met with Suave at NuStop Resource Center, 2739 Front Street, Philadelphia to bring his artwork to him. As we talked Suave said, “More people need to know about Charles Lawson. He has done so much for so many – teaching them to paint. His teaching them to paint helped hundreds of men to make their lives better.”
Charles Z. Lawson, Co-founder of Art for Justice, created “We the People” his tribute portrait of Bryan Stevenson. Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), Author of Just Mercy. EJI opened The Legacy Museum - that documents the history of slavery and its legacy in the United States and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice - the first National Memorial dedicated to victims of racial terror lynching in the United States in Montgomery, Alabama, April, 2018. (www.eji.org).
Art for Justice has shared artworks by Luis Gonzalez and Charles Lawson countless times at venues large and small. The friendship of these men comes to life in their art which shows the creativity and humanity behind prison walls, Luis Suave Gonzalez, Executive Director of NuStop Resource Center in Phila., former juvenile lifer, was the Speaker at Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity’s Beyond Bars: Conquering the Stigma of Criminal Records.
Mr. Gonzalez told his story of survival and his personal journey during 31 years of incarceration. He spoke about how he came to paint. “I saw Charles Lawson painting in his cell and said, Wow! Teach me to do that Lawson said, ‘Watch me and you will learn’. Then he gave me some paints. Along the way he would give me pointers and show me techniques. Creating art in prison helped to keep my soul alive.”
Is to support and exhibit prisoner art to:
• Promote public dialog on ways to prevent crime
• Reduce levels of incarceration
• Find effective, humane ways to improve the criminal justice system
Art for Justice - Shows the humanity behind bars. Brings awareness to systemic flaws in the criminal justice system. Seeks solutions to eliminate injustice.
* Artworks are either privately owned or have been donated to Art for Justice.
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