District Attorneys Artist in Residence 2022

These banners featuring portraits of victims lost to gun violence were created by artist Russell Craig. Craig was the 2022-2024 Artist-in-Residence at the Office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia. Craig, a self-taught artist who survived nearly a decade of incarceration after growing up in the foster care system, began making art as a means to explore the experience of over-criminalized communities, reframing narratives, and creating agency for individuals & communities impacted by the justice system. His work has been shown at the Philadelphia African American Museum and included in group shows like Truth to Power; State Goods: Art in the Era of Mass Incarceration; and the OG Experience and has garnered coverage in outlets including the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, Artsy, The Guardian, and The New York Times. Craig is an alumnus of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice Guild program, a 2017 Right of Return Fellow, and a 2018 Ford Foundation: Art For Justice Fellow.

For his residency, Craig joined DAO’s C.A.R.E.S. Unit, witnessing first-hand the impacts of homicide on families and communities and the effects of The District Attorney’s office’s work approaching criminal justice from perspectives of transformation and repair. C.A.R.E.S. stands for Crisis Assistance, Response, and Engagement for Survivors. C.A.R.E.S. works directly with co-survivors of every homicide in the city to limit the effects of trauma for them. During his residency, Craig worked alongside Peer Crisis Responders in the response and engagement stages to help survivors grieve and heal through artmaking and empathy.
Craig’s residency culminates with new work(s) on the banners overhead celebrating the life and legacy of family members lost to violent crime. This groundbreaking art and advocacy project stems from Mural Arts Philadelphia’s belief that art can serve as a tool of compassion and empathy and restore and transform individual lives and communities.

Location Note: Banners no longer on view at this location (temporary project).