HVW8 L.A. is currently showing Fulton Leroy “Mr. Wash’s” Washington’s fundraising exhibition “Bridging the Way” which is helping to fund the building of his new studio and community center in Compton, CA. NBC News reports:
“Fulton Leroy Washington, who goes by Mr. Wash, knows a thing or two about getting a second chance in life even in the midst of hopelessness and isolation.
Before President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in 2016, Mr. Wash was behind bars for more than two decades. While serving a life sentence after being wrongfully convicted of nonviolent drug offenses in the 1970s, he taught himself how to draw and paint.
“I brought eight brushes and a couple of paint tubes and started practicing. And here we are now,” the Compton native recalled.”
“After commissioning his artwork, he was able to purchase his studio in Compton. And he’s now raising money to build a community center on the same lot with the goal of giving second chances to the formerly incarcerated and artists of color. The ex-inmate said the Art by Wash Center will also provide free housing of up to 6 months to those newly released from prison.
“This is my new blank canvass,” Mr. Wash described. “It’s going to have spaces for inmates coming home from prison and teaching art as a way of communication to prevent them from going [back] to prison.”
Mr. Wash also planned to host a fundraising exhibition with other artists of color whom he took under his wings.
The exhibition, which is curated by Mr. Wash himself, runs from Feb. 15 through Mar. 26 at HVW8 Gallery at 661 N. Spaulding Ave. in Los Angeles.”
Read the full article here or learn more about the exhibition.
