After Violence Project

"USA at 250 is an unending story of erasure and resistance."

For two decades, the After Violence Project has worked alongside directly impacted communities to document, archive, and share community stories and records, and to build community-controlled information and memory infrastructure across the U.S.

Read Gabriel Solís's statement on USA at 250 on AfterWords: https://bit.ly/3TiGAut

Please help us continue this vital work by making a donation today: https://bit.ly/44sMWdm

Throwback to our 2024 Archives is a Sacred Word exhibition!

📆Reminder: the deadline for our artist open call is this Sunday, July 12! We're looking for visual artists impacted by incarceration and state violence to join Keepsakes for our next inside/outside group exhibition in Austin.

🔗 Learn more about the open call: https://bit.ly/4ebQvJ3

Summer Office Closure 💫

At AVP, collective care isn’t just a value we uphold in our archival work—it’s something we try to practice. In that spirit, our team will be offline from June 22–July 3 for a summer pause. While there won’t be our July newsletter, we’ll be back in August with regular updates and reflections.

New Collection: 85 to Stay Alive Rally Collection

As summer approaches and temperatures rise, incarcerated people in Texas face a reality that many of us can escape—dangerous heat conditions. The 85 to Stay Alive Campaign has been fighting to hold incarceration facilities accountable for keeping temperatures below 85°F. AVP is proud to spotlight a new collection of 15 protest posters from the campaign's July 2023 rally, organized by Texas Prisons Community Advocates, Lioness, Be Frank4Justice, and Texas Center for Justice and Equity, calling on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide air conditioning in Texas prisons and jails. The posters carry direct calls to action, documenting how the withholding of safe living conditions compounds the violence of incarceration. Donated by Lioness Executive Director Jennifer Toon, this collection is now part of the archive: https://bit.ly/4fUYCfS

The fight is not over. Consider supporting the organizations who continue it.

Open Call for Keepsakes Guest Artists! 🎨

We’re thrilled to announce that we are expanding our Keepsakes program to include guest artists at our upcoming group exhibition! We are inviting submissions of completed visual works related to memory, records, and personal archives to be shown alongside the creative work of currently incarcerated collaborators. Whether you are a photographer, cartoonist, illustrator, or another type of visual artist, this call asks for ready-to-hang work. We will prioritize applications from people who are formerly incarcerated and warmly welcome anyone shaped by incarceration or criminalization to apply.

📆 Applicants must live, work, or be based in Central Texas. Each selected artist receives $5,000. Applications due Sunday, July 12, 2026.

🔗 Learn more about the open call: https://bit.ly/4ebQvJ3