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The Returning Artists Guild exists to ensure that justice-impacted artists have what every artist deserves: community, opportunity, and the resources to thrive.We support artists who have experienced incarceration through creative practice, peer connection, professional development, direct financial support, exhibitions, and healing-centered programming. Together, we&#39;re building a future where artists are defined by their creativity, not their conviction.Every donation helps remove barriers, amplify artists&#39; voices, and create pathways to income, leadership, and belonging. Because when justice-impacted artists flourish, entire communities benefit. Your donation helps justice-impacted artists heal, create, earn income, and build lives beyond incarceration. We believe people are more than the worst thing they&#39;ve ever experienced.The Returning Artists Guild is a national community of justice-impacted artists who are rebuilding their lives through creativity, connection, and mutual care.Our members are painters, poets, photographers, quilters, musicians, filmmakers, and sculptors. They are parents, mentors, educators, and community leaders.After incarceration, many artists face barriers that have nothing to do with talent.Transportation.Housing.Healthcare.Access to professional opportunities.Isolation.We exist to change that.Through artist grants, exhibitions, retreats, mentorship, professional development, emergency support, and community, we&#39;re helping artists not simply survive reentry&mdash;but thrive.And it&#39;s working.Our latest member survey found:&bull; 100% of artists reported increased confidence, hope, emotional expression, or reduced isolation.&bull; More than 60% credited RAG with helping them earn income, develop professionally, or sustain their creative practice.&bull; Since joining RAG, none of our survey respondents reported returning to the criminal legal system.This isn&#39;t charity.This is investing in artists whose creativity transforms communities.Every gift helps provide:&bull; Artist Supply Fund grants&bull; Emergency assistance&bull; Professional development&bull; Exhibitions and performances&bull; Retreats and healing spaces&bull; Opportunities for artists to earn incomeWhen justice-impacted artists are given the resources to create, they don&#39;t just change their own lives.They change the stories our communities tell about incarceration, redemption, and possibility.Join us.Help build a world where every returning artist has the opportunity to create, heal, and lead.

<h1 fr-original-style="text-align: start; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" id="isPasted" style="text-align: start; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit;">Thank You for Investing in Freedom Through Art</h1>Hello <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" id="isPasted" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; -webkit-user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name,Thank you for your generous gift to the Returning Artists Guild.Your support is more than a donation. It&#39;s a declaration that people are more than the worst thing that&#39;s ever happened to them. It&#39;s an investment in creativity, healing, and the belief that every artist deserves the opportunity to thrive.At the Returning Artists Guild, we walk alongside justice-impacted artists as they rebuild their lives through creative practice and community. Because of supporters like you, artists have access to supplies, professional development, exhibitions, emergency assistance, mentorship, retreats, and a community that believes in their future.The impact of your generosity is real.Our members consistently tell us that RAG has helped them rediscover hope, rebuild confidence, find their artistic voice, and create new opportunities for themselves and their families. Many have exhibited their work publicly for the first time, earned income from their art, found lasting community, and become leaders in movements for justice and healing.Every gift helps remove barriers that too often stand between talented artists and the lives they deserve.Together, we&#39;re creating a future where justice-impacted artists are recognized not for their past, but for their creativity, resilience, and leadership.Thank you for believing in this work and for standing beside our artists. We couldn&#39;t do it without you.With gratitude,Kamisha Thomas Co-Executive Director &amp; Co-FounderAimee Wissman Co-Executive Director &amp; Co-FounderReturning Artists GuildWe make art. We heal. We build each other up. We change the story.

The Returning Artists Guild exists to ensure that justice-impacted artists have what every artist deserves: community, opportunity, and the resources to thrive.We support artists who have experienced incarceration through creative practice, peer connection, professional development, direct financial support, exhibitions, and healing-centered programming. Together, we're building a future where artists are defined by their creativity, not their conviction.Every donation helps remove barriers, amplify artists' voices, and create pathways to income, leadership, and belonging. Because when justice-impacted artists flourish, entire communities benefit. Your donation helps justice-impacted artists heal, create, earn income, and build lives beyond incarceration. We believe people are more than the worst thing they've ever experienced.The Returning Artists Guild is a national community of justice-impacted artists who are rebuilding their lives through creativity, connection, and mutual care.Our members are painters, poets, photographers, quilters, musicians, filmmakers, and sculptors. They are parents, mentors, educators, and community leaders.After incarceration, many artists face barriers that have nothing to do with talent.Transportation.Housing.Healthcare.Access to professional opportunities.Isolation.We exist to change that.Through artist grants, exhibitions, retreats, mentorship, professional development, emergency support, and community, we're helping artists not simply survive reentry—but thrive.And it's working.Our latest member survey found:• 100% of artists reported increased confidence, hope, emotional expression, or reduced isolation.• More than 60% credited RAG with helping them earn income, develop professionally, or sustain their creative practice.• Since joining RAG, none of our survey respondents reported returning to the criminal legal system.This isn't charity.This is investing in artists whose creativity transforms communities.Every gift helps provide:• Artist Supply Fund grants• Emergency assistance• Professional development• Exhibitions and performances• Retreats and healing spaces• Opportunities for artists to earn incomeWhen justice-impacted artists are given the resources to create, they don't just change their own lives.They change the stories our communities tell about incarceration, redemption, and possibility.Join us.Help build a world where every returning artist has the opportunity to create, heal, and lead.

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