Mass Incarceration: Healing through Community and Art with Toni Picasso

Antonio L. Burton, also known as “Toni Picasso,” is a native of Decatur, Illinois.  His faith in Jesus Christ has fueled his fluent gift in all arts, mediums, and skills. In 2012, Antonio earned a bachelor’s in 2-D Design with an emphasis in painting from Eastern Illinois University. Since then he has hit the ground running, laying a foundation in his field of study as a freelance artist in both Illinois and Missouri. Antonio’s hope is to paint into the heart of others a new color of life that will not only inspire others, but also impact communities using the gifts God has given him.

View Antonio’s work in Envisioning Justice RE:ACTION.

Follow Antonio “Toni Picasso” Burton
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Illinois Humanities is collaborating with community organizations in six Illinois towns to host free public arts and educational programs for all ages. These six events featuring the artists, educators, and organizers behind Envisioning Justice RE:ACTION create opportunities to for us to reimagine timely conversations about justice, safety, community, and belonging.

Learn more about Envisioning Justice programs and grants.

McLean County Arts Center encourages and promotes the appreciation, study, cultivation, development, and practice of art for the benefit of all the people, cultures, and communities of McLean County. 

BCAI Cultural Arts & Humanities provides socially aware art education and an expression platform to everyone regardless of income and in honor of every background. BCAI values community/village, honesty and communication, individual purpose and innate power, self-actualization, the voice of the individual, and creativity and co-creation. It defines art as any activity that requires the imagination to reach the next level.

Creative Healing Art Therapy, LLC, specializes in treating trauma-related disorders via methods rooted in both neuroscience and the arts. Its practice is a collective of creative therapists with experience in trauma and attachment work, who understand that for us to live fully, we need to connect fully. 

Illinois Art Station (IAS) provides young artists and their families from all neighborhoods and backgrounds with transformative experiences in the visual arts. IAS values self-discovery, empowerment, and critical skill building.

For 25 years, Not in Our Town Bloomington-Normal has worked behind the scenes and at the forefront of social change in the Twin Cities, attempting to build understanding between individuals and communities and create an inclusive and secure environment for all. The work to stop hate, address bullying, and build a safe, inclusive community.