Envisioning Justice leverages the arts and humanities to envision alternatives to the enduring injustice of mass incarceration. This Illinois Humanities initiative works with communities and people impacted by mass incarceration to spark conversation and illuminate community-based strategies that address our racist and unjust criminal legal system.

From 2017 to 2019, Envisioning Justice was concentrated in Chicago. Illinois Humanities has since expanded this initiative throughout the state — more specifically, in Bloomington-Normal, Carbondale, Chicago, Decatur, East St. Louis, Galesburg, and Urbana-Champaign. We continue to host and document community conversations, provide grant opportunities, and commission projects by artists and humanists working to shift the narrative around incarceration and system impacted communities.

Illinois Humanities acknowledges that people and communities affected by the criminal legal system are driving this movement for change, and we are committed to supporting their efforts to bring public awareness to issues of systemic racism and injustice inherent in mass incarceration through arts and humanities programming. We also seek to strengthen the networks, organizations, and resources they need to continue making a difference.

For more information, please contact us at ejustice@ilhumanities.org. You can also receive bi-weekly updates by signing up for our Envisioning Justice digest.

Activating community for a more just future.

Illinois Humanities is collaborating with community organizations in six Illinois towns to host free public arts and educational programs for all ages. These six events featuring the artists, educators, and organizers behind Envisioning Justice RE:ACTION create opportunities for us to reimagine timely conversations about justice, safety, community, and belonging.

Together, we’ll share stories, write poetry, see art, ask big questions, and learn from the wisdom each of us holds. Our ideas will contribute to the growing archive of community responses to mass incarceration on the RE:ACTION website.

Join us – Find an Activation event near you!

October 5, 2023 | 5:30 p.m.
Galesburg, IL

Our Agreements: An Exhibition with Alexandra Antoine and Brandon V. Wyatt

Hosted by the Galesburg Community Arts Center and Alexandra Antoine
Free food and drinks provided

RSVP

• November 2023 in Bloomington, IL
• November 2023 in Decatur, IL with Williams Estrada and Jasmin Cardenas

Illinois Humanities presents Envisioning Justice RE:ACTION, an interactive digital exhibition and activation kit using the arts and humanities to imagine a future without mass incarceration.

Browse dynamic works of visual art, creative writing, music, film, scholarship, and more in the RE:ACTION Exhibition, created by Illinois artists and humanists to deepen our understanding of our punitive criminal legal system and its personal, local, and global impacts. Then, put what you’ve learned into practice in the Activation Kit, with more than a dozen prompts to lead you through real-world activities to question our relationships to the carceral state, encourage healing, and share how you envision justice. Complete a prompt and share your response on the RE:ACTION website to add your vision to a growing archive of community responses to mass incarceration.

Learn more and share how you envision justice at envisioningjustice.org. 

Visit the Exhibition

Grantmaking is a critical component of Envisioning Justice. Through the Envisioning Justice grants program, Illinois Humanities partners with groups throughout the state to use the arts and humanities to spark statewide conversations about the impact of mass incarceration as well as envision community- based solutions.

Learn more and apply

Illinois Humanities continues to develop public programming that includes our ongoing Rapid Response Series, film screenings, and other activities that can be used to advance the conversation and bring people together to collectively imagine alternatives.

The Envisioning Justice Rapid Response Series was created by Illinois Humanities to share short, original videos featuring perspectives and reflections from humanists, artists, and community organizers working in system-impacted communities during this complex time.

You can watch past Rapid Response programs on the Illinois Humanities YouTube channel.

The Envisioning Justice Digest is a monthly newsletter that features events, updates, resources, and relevant media within the movement of addressing and ending mass incarceration. Subscribe Now