Impact

“I became who I am here. Thank you for believing in me. At Adler, I went to the moon and back.” – Adler Youth graduate

Under the visionary leadership of Artistic Director, Tom Oppenheim, The Stella Adler Arts Justice Division has served 15,000+ New Yorkers since its inception in 2004, serving 1,000+ students annually since 2013. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr’s vision for a “beloved community” — a community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty or hate — Arts Justice is essential to the studio’s mission and identity. We use theater and education to uplift and empower people in our city who are experiencing extreme poverty, deeply segregated schools and inequities that we find unacceptable. Arts Justice democratizes access to the arts by tearing down financial barriers to access. This program is offered out of an urgent need to fulfill our mission and build the world we want to live in tomorrow, today.

When I heard there's a theater program coming, not only was I thirsty for anything but so overjoyed that it was theater that was being brought. Up to that point my humanity had been completely stripped from me. My femininity. It's a place where they try to strip you down. And so being able to be in the class really brought life back to me.

Lisette, from 'Rikers: An Oral History' by Graham Rayman and Reuven Blau

Arts Justice has a vast footprint of free programs across New York City. Every week a cadre of highly trained theater artists teach in jails, public schools, rehabilitation facilities and more. Of the 1,000+ students reached annually, an average of 300 are currently experiencing incarceration.

Book covers for three books in a row: Rikers, An Oral History; Your Brain on Art; and Applied Theatre - Women and the Criminal Justice System

Over two decades Arts Justice has developed a proven track record of success. Our programs have been so effective that the New York City Department of Correction engaged the studio’s former Director of Arts Justice to offer more programs like ours and make them central to rehabilitation. The impact of this work was featured in Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us (February 2023). Authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross explore scientific evidence and study how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts. Arts Justice is also featured in Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System. Graduates from these programs have become actors, teachers, leaders in the national justice landscape and staff and leadership at the Center.

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