The Returning Artists Guild (RAG) is an abolitionist guild of directly-impacted practicing artists across Ohio, and beyond.
Aimee Wissman and Kamisha Thomas formally co-founded the RAG in 2018, after their respective releases. They wanted to continue the therapeutic, creative community that they found “inside.” Both are multidisciplinary, social practice artists and single mothers, who believe that their artistic talents and energy are best spent building a platform for artists like themselves and investing in a free future for everyone. The work that led to the RAG began inside Dayton Correctional Institution in 2015, when Aimee, Kamisha, and other artists, developed an art therapy program and discovered the transformative power of the arts to heal and give voice to women who were locked in mental and emotional cages long before being incarcerated physically. Those years of art therapy built a strong foundation for the leadership, community building, peer-driven, and holistic approach of the RAG. The original guild members stem from that art therapy group, and membership has grown to include other artists who had served time in various institutions across Ohio, and nationally.
Through RAG artists’ performances, artworks, and storytelling, these exhibitions and events have helped audiences gain a better understanding of the prison industrial complex, its direct impact on so many people, and the distinction between prison abolition and prison reform movements.
Directly-impacted people are experts in recovering from the lasting, harmful effects of the criminal “justice” system and creators of new, holistic, community-centered approaches to healthcare, wellness, recovery, parenting, and creative output. RAG success looks like gaining new knowledge and skills, empowering artist leaders, expanding into new spaces, and pursuing new opportunities to support RAG initiatives. RAG will reduce recidivism and increase resilience after release through comprehensive peer-driven support and mentorship for artists. The artistic practice, process, and nurturing of RAG artists and the broader justice-impacted community will cultivate paradigm shifts required to build public support for ending mass incarceration.
RAG looks forward to designing and implementing a strategy that builds community, funnels needed resources, and engages philanthropy and fundraising in a meaningful way. Our social media helps people find us and positions RAG as THE resource for re-entry, creativity, and safety, for system-impacted individuals who need access to treatment and care, a platform for their voices and creative outputs, opportunities for entrepreneurship, and a central role in the RAG’s story. We work to highlight our artists, their struggles and victories, the pathway through the pain, and the community of those who have a shared experience. We believe through our presence (in person and online) these works, these artists, and our model can become a way we collectively heal and start to create paradigm shifts in the community at large.
The Returning Artists Guild (RAG) is an abolitionist guild of directly-impacted practicing artists across Ohio, and beyond.
Aimee Wissman and Kamisha Thomas formally co-founded the RAG in 2018, after their respective releases. They wanted to continue the therapeutic, creative community that they found “inside.” Both are multidisciplinary, social practice artists and single mothers, who believe that their artistic talents and energy are best spent building a platform for artists like themselves and investing in a free future for everyone. The work that led to the RAG began inside Dayton Correctional Institution in 2015, when Aimee, Kamisha, and other artists, developed an art therapy program and discovered the transformative power of the arts to heal and give voice to women who were locked in mental and emotional cages long before being incarcerated physically. Those years of art therapy built a strong foundation for the leadership, community building, peer-driven, and holistic approach of the RAG. The original guild members stem from that art therapy group, and membership has grown to include other artists who had served time in various institutions across Ohio, and nationally.
Through RAG artists’ performances, artworks, and storytelling, these exhibitions and events have helped audiences gain a better understanding of the prison industrial complex, its direct impact on so many people, and the distinction between prison abolition and prison reform movements.
Directly-impacted people are experts in recovering from the lasting, harmful effects of the criminal “justice” system and creators of new, holistic, community-centered approaches to healthcare, wellness, recovery, parenting, and creative output. RAG success looks like gaining new knowledge and skills, empowering artist leaders, expanding into new spaces, and pursuing new opportunities to support RAG initiatives. RAG will reduce recidivism and increase resilience after release through comprehensive peer-driven support and mentorship for artists. The artistic practice, process, and nurturing of RAG artists and the broader justice-impacted community will cultivate paradigm shifts required to build public support for ending mass incarceration.
RAG looks forward to designing and implementing a strategy that builds community, funnels needed resources, and engages philanthropy and fundraising in a meaningful way. Our social media helps people find us and positions RAG as THE resource for re-entry, creativity, and safety, for system-impacted individuals who need access to treatment and care, a platform for their voices and creative outputs, opportunities for entrepreneurship, and a central role in the RAG’s story. We work to highlight our artists, their struggles and victories, the pathway through the pain, and the community of those who have a shared experience. We believe through our presence (in person and online) these works, these artists, and our model can become a way we collectively heal and start to create paradigm shifts in the community at large.
