Art By Wash Studio & Community Center Support
Support Mr. Wash's mission to build a community art center and housing for formerly incarcerated people in Compton through the Artists in Space book.
Los Angeles artist and criminal justice advocate Mr. Wash (Fulton Leroy Washington) is raising funds to create the Art By Wash Studio & Community Center in Compton. The project aims to establish a "two-way bridge" providing young people with creative outlets to set positive trajectories while offering housing and art creation spaces for formerly incarcerated individuals.
Mr. Wash was convicted of a non-violent drug offense and served over 20 years in federal prison before receiving clemency from President Barack Obama in 2016. During his incarceration, he developed his artistic skills and taught art to inmates across three prisons for 18 years, fundamentally changing lives through creative expression.
The community center will be built at the existing Art By Wash Studio location on Rosecrans Avenue in Compton, which has already been transformed from a dilapidated lot into a vibrant creative space. The project includes studio facilities, art classrooms, and residential units for formerly incarcerated individuals.
To fund this initiative, Mr. Wash released the book "Artists in Space," which features interviews and photographs of 20 Los Angeles artists in their creative workspaces. Contributors include renowned artists such as Patrisse Cullors (co-founder of Black Lives Matter), Kenneth Gatewood, and Charles Bibbs. Proceeds from book sales directly support the community center's development.
Mr. Wash's vision emphasizes art as therapy and transformation. His work has been exhibited at prestigious institutions including the Hammer Museum, LACMA, The Huntington Library, and Jeffrey Deitch Gallery. The goal is to complete the main building before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, though several million dollars in additional funding is still needed.