Restorative Justice Artist. Educator. Circle Keeper. Visionary.

 

I’m Mashaun Ali Hendricks—a Chicago-born, Cleveland-based artist and educator rooted in the sacred practice of Restorative Justice. I create work that helps people feel, reflect, connect, and heal. Through every peace circle I hold, every garment I design, and every community I serve, my art asks:

 

Can we build heart connections so deep they heal the harms of the past and require us to work together for peace and safety?

 

My Purpose:

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To embody the philosophy of Restorative Justice.
To practice peace circles not just as facilitation—but as a way of life.

To create experiences where healing, justice, and community are not abstract ideals, but daily practices.

Restorative Justice didn’t just give me tools—it woke me up spiritually. It gave me a new way of seeing myself, others, and the world. That awakening became my why—and I hope to offer the same awakening to others through creativity, conversation, and connection.

 

My Practice

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As a Restorative Justice practitioner, I work with individuals, schools, systems, and communities to create spaces for dialogue, accountability, and healing. My workshops and trainings support youth service providers, K–12 educators, justice professionals, and community members in building practices of care and transformation.

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As a contemporary artist, I work across screen printing, streetwear apparel, text, wheat-paste, and installations. My creations make you pause, laugh, think, question, and remember. Bold images and statements pull you in—but the power is in the conversation they spark. Through irony, paradox, and subversive language, my work reclaims narratives, challenges assumptions, and critiques the systems that benefit from our pain.

 

What Guides Me

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I create from the questions that matter:

• How can Restorative Justice heal the harms of the past?

• How much can we increase the value of strangers to one another?

• Can connection become the new safety?

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My work—whether it’s a T-shirt, a zine, a workshop, or a pop-up shop—is a meditation on these questions.

A protest. A prayer. A call home.

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What I Believe

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• Systems change when hearts change.

• Crime isn’t inevitable—community is.

• Justice isn’t punishment—it’s healing.

• Art can be both mirror and medicine.

 

My Promise

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I’m not just doing the work. I’m becoming the work.
I’m afraid of not living in alignment with my purpose. So I’ve made a commitment:

• To stay a student of the process.

• To protect the sacredness of the process.

• To keep creating from the heart—for the people, with the people.

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Let’s build something different.

Something real. Something beautiful. Something whole.
Let’s restore. Let’s reimagine. Let’s reconnect.

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Experience

 

Executive Director — CRIMEDROUGHT LLC

 

Founder & Owner — TRAP House Chicago

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Six retail/community engagement locations

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Restorative Justice Consultant — Circuit Court of Cook County Restorative Justice Community Court

 

Project Coordinator & Trainer — YMCA of Metro Chicago – Bridging the Divide

 

Restorative Justice Specialist — Chicago Public Schools

 

Restorative Justice Specialist & Coordinator — Alternatives, Inc.

 

Teacher — Banner South Academy Alternative High School

 

Youth as Resources & Program Development Assistant Coordinator — Chicago Area Project

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Art & Design Accomplishments

 

2019 — PrimeTime Features Fashion Designer
Question Everything, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

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2018 — Lean Artist Chicago Cohort
I Was Raised on the Internet, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

 

2017 — 3AP Artist Grant, 3Arts

 

2016 — Homan Square Artist-in-Residence, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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Group Exhibitions

 

2022 — Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, & Reparations | Chicago to Guantánamo
DePaul Art Museum – Chicago, IL

 

2021 — Mariposa: Art in Resistance
Vault Galerie & Healthy Hood – Chicago, IL

 

2018 — Sanctuary
3Arts & 6018|North at EXPO Chicago – Chicago, IL

 

2017 — All of the Above – Art, Theory, & Culture
Elephant Room Gallery x Flatland / FLTLNDS PRSS – Chicago, IL

 

2017 — CRIMEDROUGHT: The Solution
Hairpin Art Center – Chicago, IL

 

2017 — The P.O.W.E.R. Project
Art Leaders of Color Network – Comfort Station – Chicago, IL

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Talks & Workshops

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2024 — Black Art Showcase

Pivot Art Center – Cleveland, OH

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2023 — Community Space Building
UIC College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts – Chicago, IL

 

2022 — Restorative Justice in Chicago
National Restorative Justice Conference – Chicago, IL

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2021 — Expanding the Circle: Understanding Restorative Justice
Envisioning Justice – Illinois Humanities

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2021 — Restorative Justice Philosophy in Action
Day of Service – School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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2020 — Black Mental Wellness Conference
Featured Artist – Streetwear and Justice

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2018 — Lean Artist Artist Talk
I Was Raised on the Internet – MCA Chicago

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2018 — Lead Lives: Restorative Circles – A Social Experiment
TRAP House Chicago x FUNDRED – Washington, D.C.

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2017 — From Trauma to Healing
Advancing Justice Reinvestment in Illinois

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2017 — Creative Approaches to Social Justice
University of Illinois at Chicago

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2017 — Open Engagement Conference
Streetwear x Art x Restorative Justice – Chicago, IL

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2016–2015 — Columbia College Chicago
Guest Lecturer – Dance and Movement Therapy / Deepening Diversity

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2015 — International Association of Chiefs of Police – Speaker

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2015 — U.S. Department of Justice: Forum City – Speaker

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2015 — Loyola School of Law
Speaker – Cradle to Career vs. School to Prison Pipeline

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2013–2017 — University of Chicago
Speaker – Summer Service Program & Adolescent Male Seminar

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