Art for Justice event spotlights exonerated artist’s journey from death row to advocacy
Moravian University School of Theology launched its Lifelong Learning series on Tuesday, September 30, with a powerful evening focused on criminal justice reform through art.
Presented in partnership with Bethlehem Area Moravians, the event attracted approximately 40 in-person guests and 20 participants via Zoom.
The evening’s featured speaker, Daniel Gwynn, shared his remarkable journey from wrongful conviction and death row to exoneration and advocacy. Falsely accused and sentenced to death in 1995, Gwynn used his nearly three decades in prison to pursue education and create artwork that documented his experience and called for justice. His death sentence was overturned in 2023, and he was fully exonerated in 2024.
Since regaining his freedom, Gwynn has become a vocal advocate for the wrongfully incarcerated, using his paintings and story to highlight systemic injustices in the criminal justice system. Throughout the evening, he emphasized how faith, self-reflection, and artistic expression were crucial to his healing and transformation. His powerful paintings serve as both personal testimony and urgent calls for justice reform.
The program was coordinated in thoughtful partnership with Ann Marie Kirk, co-founder of Art for Justice, an organization that supports and exhibits art by incarcerated individuals, while promoting dialogue on criminal justice reform.
Rev. Janel Rice, Senior Pastor at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to host the event and reaffirmed the community’s commitment to bridge-building and social justice initiatives.
All are encouraged to visit DanielGwynn197.com to support Gwynn’s ongoing work and artforjustice.org to learn more about the organization and upcoming programs.
The next event in the School of Theology’s Lifelong Learning series will be the Moses Lecture on October 29, featuring Jared Burkholder speaking on “Moravians and the Evangelical Question.”