Art for Justice Event with Daniel Gwynn

Tuesday evening, September 30

Please join the Moravian University School of Theology and the Bethlehem Area Moravians for an exhibit, reception, and talk with Daniel Gwynn, an artist who paints about his experience on Death Row in Pennsylvania for a crime he did not commit.

In 1994, Gwynn was convicted and later sentenced to death for an arson murder in West Philadelphia at the age of 24. But in 2024, 30 years later, the 54-year-old is now a free man. 

Throughout his decades of incarceration on death row, Gwynn maintained his innocence while turning to painting as a means of healing and survival. He used art to process his experiences and maintain his humanity despite what he described as being “trapped in a box where the days just tick away.”

His work served as both personal therapy and a testament to resilience in the face of profound adversity.

Gwynn was born in Philadelphia and raised by his maternal grandmother after his mother married an abusive man who rejected his presence. Gwynn’s father lived nearby but chose to remain with another family. 

As a child, Gwynn attended school regularly and sang in his church choir, but grew up during Philadelphia's crack cocaine epidemic, surrounded by violence, dilapidated buildings, and addiction. The pain of parental abandonment took its toll as he matured.

Gwynn works with Art for Justice (artforjustice.org), an organization dedicated to addressing systemic flaws in the criminal justice system and promoting solutions for a more humane approach.

ART FOR JUSTICE EVENT DETAILS

• When: Tuesday evening, Sept. 30, 2025
• Where: Bahnson Center, 60 West Locust Street, Bethlehem
• Exhibit and reception: 5 p.m. in the Bahnson Center Lobby
• Artist talk: 6 p.m. in the Bahnson Center Saal
• Register for this event