This untitled piece by Nicci Shaw is part of the artRAGEous art show running May 3–5 in the Driscoll Gallery. Photo: Courtesy of RAGE
April is sexual assault awareness month, but discussion on the issue will continue into May as the DU student group RAGE — Rape Awareness and Gender Education — hosts the artRAGEous art show May 3–5 in the Driscoll Gallery. The exhibit includes work that addresses sexual assault, gender issues, body image and more in a variety of mediums including paintings, poetry, photography, drawings, sculpture and collage.
“We really just want people to be aware of these issues and that these are things that are happening to real people who you know,” says junior Jenna Lindsay-Brisbin, who organized the show with fellow RAGE member and junior Nicci Shaw. “Also, for the artists I think it can be a really therapeutic experience just to be able to share their stories and their art with other people.”
Male and female artists are represented in the show, which features roughly 15 works by DU students and members of the broader Denver community.
“We asked for submissions from some nonprofit groups in the area that deal with similar issues — such as the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program, the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault — because a lot of times the art is actually what comes out of treatment or therapy; a lot of times people will do art as part of their recovery process,” Lindsay-Brisbin says. “That’s how we get a lot of our art as well.”
RAGE aims to educate the DU community about sexual assault, rape, and gender identity. In addition to its annual art show, the group also helps sponsor DU’s alcohol awareness week and the yearly Take Back the Night rally, march and candlelight vigil that encourages victims to end silence about sexual assault.
ArtRAGEous runs from 6–9 p.m. May 3–5 in the Driscoll Gallery. A reception from 6–9 p.m. May 4 includes food and a poetry open mic.