Youth dedicated to inclusion hold art show
DARIEN — A group of current Darien students and alumni have created a group called Ragetime CT, which is holding an art showcase throughout town. The same group was part of the organizers of vigils, walks and protests last summer.
“Ragetime” stands for “Reform and Amend General Education to Teach and Integrate Minority Experiences,” their website says.
According to Ragetime CT’s website, they are a grassroots organizations and a collective of current students and alumni who have a passion for equality and justice.
The group’s mission is to spark lasting change now through integrating minority experiences and centering Black, LGBT, women, immigrant, disabled, and indigenous voices in all curriculums, they say.
“We believe all students deserve an unbiased, equal and well-rounded education, regardless of gender, race, ability, belief system, social or economic status,” the group says.
The organization has art installations up at the Darien YMCA, The Depot, The Darien Arts Center, and the YWCA, who are serving as official partners, according to board member Kate Dempsey.
Dempsey and several of the other board members were behind various protests, including a Black Lives Matter protest in Darien in June.
At the time, Dempsey said the “organizers felt that after the other protests in town, a lot of people thought it was a one and done thing — that since they were over with, no one should care any longer about these issues.”
“We wanted to keep pushing this movement forward to have this sit on everyone’s minds,” Dempsey said at the time.
The theme of the art show is metamorphosis, and includes a variety of artwork of personal submissions.
“This does not end with this protest, nor will it end with the next. This ends when there is change everywhere in support of Black and LGBTQ+ lives.” Kate Dempsey and Tammy Nguyen in an essay in June on the Black Lives Matter protests
Some of the artwork is from a children’s art walk held over the summer.
The children’s art walk was held in July to raise awareness for kids about inclusivity. The goal of the event was to encourage conversations in families with children about diversity, bias, race and inclusion.
For the walk, children were asked to create an original piece of art, that responds to the prompt: “celebrating our differences.”
Dempsey and fellow board member Tammy Nguyen wrote about their Black Lives Matter protest i n a piece in June. “This does not end with this protest, nor will it end with the next. This ends when there is change everywhere in support of Black and LGBTQ+ lives,” they wrote.
The live stream, more photos from the ceremony, and photos of the artwork can be found at the newly launched website ragetimect.com.