FAQ'S
What is Artists for Justice about?
Artists for Justice is an all-inclusive community of artist-activists mobilizing their creativity to bring awareness & action to a variety of social-justice initiatives. Our platform focuses on uplifting the work, creativity, and visibility of diverse emerging artists while inviting audience members to take actionable steps towards supporting an organization or cause of the artists' choice in exchange for viewing their artwork. We are about creative inclusivity, intentional engagement, and harnessing artistic energy as a powerful means of activism within our community. Our goal is to amplify and support the creative works of diverse emerging artists while making an impact in our community through authentic means of expression.
How does this work?
We invite artists of all different backgrounds, experiences, and mediums to contribute their artwork in dedication to an organization or cause of their choice. Much like a virtual museum, their artwork is exclusively showcased on the Artist For Justice website where audience members are invited to take one (or more) actionable steps prior to viewing the artwork. These actionable steps are inspired and provided by the artists, often in dedication to supporting the organization or cause of their choice. Once the step is completed, audience members get access to the artist's work at which point they can watch, listen, like, share, and engage with the artwork.
Why did you create Artists for Justice?
In a world where socio-cultural hierarchies structurally decide what art is and isn't, what it means and doesn't mean, which art matters and doesn't matter, it can be hard to find one's place in the artistic arena and share work in an authentic and accessible manner. The rigid perspectives on what constitutes real art, valued art, worth your money art (which come from a predominately white and Eurocentric history of art-making), keep diverse emerging artists on the sidelines and their work lost amongst the spectacle of an elitist artistic stage. Artists for Justice is a way to liberate art-making; highlight and honor the work of all artists; engage audiences in taking action, and create an impact through art rather than a profit.
How do you choose which organizations to support?
We don't - our contributing artists choose which organization or cause they want their work to directly impact. While we are open to any organization dedicated to social justice, we encourage artists to choose local grassroots organizations that truly need a helping hand in their work. As for the actionable steps, we have a few standard ones that artists can choose from to include in their prompt, or they can create their own that is more aligned with the mission and work of their chosen organization.
We do not support any organizations that are hateful or discriminatory on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, citizenship status, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, or social class.
How do I become a contributing artist?
If you are interested in becoming a contributing artist, please fill out our submission application. We encourage all kinds of artists to participate, especially emerging artists who are seeking opportunities of collaboration, constructive feedback, and an artistic community to call home. We ask that you consider the content of your artwork, the intent and impact you want to create, and an organization or cause you would like to support. After completing the application, our Artist Outreach Coordinator will contact you within 5 business days. Once your application has been reviewed, we will coordinate with you to create your featured page on the Artists For Justice website and provide promotional materials to share with your social media network. Contributing Artists can be one-time or recurring depending on the involvement they wish to have.