2010 Art and Change Grant – $2,500
- Neighborhood: Kensington
- Change Partner: Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
- Discipline: Literary Arts
- Social Change / Intent: Militarization / Criminalization / Incarceration
Aja will create and publish a chapbook of poetry to bring awareness to the atrocities caused by the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The book will be a compilation of her poetry and writings, writings by family members of murder victims and current or exonerated death row prisoners from and/or living in the Philadelphia area. After assisting a loved one who was in prison on exaggerated charges, Aja was moved to want to help those that had no one advocating for them. Her intention in creating this compilation is to make a powerful artistic statement that could potentially encourage those that read it to consider whether the death penalty truly serves the needs of victims or the community at large. The book will be distributed free of charge.
Aja Beech 