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As we close in on 2013, Visual AIDS take some time to look back and highlight the top ten moments. Here they are counting down backwards...
10. CELEBRATING 25 YEARS
In 2013 we celebrated our 25th year with the Visual AIDS Vanguard Awards as we honored the founders of
Visual AIDS (Robert Atkins, Gary Garrels, Thomas Sokolowski, the late William Olander, and founding Director, Patrick O'Connell) along with ACT UP member Ann Northrop and fashion designer Mondo
Guerra. It was a beautiful evening that brought together different
generations to reflect on where we've been and where we are headed.
9. READING AIDS
This year's reading list included touching books about family lost, including Fairyland: A Memoir of My
Father by Alysia Abbott and the artist book Steve's Vinyl by Cathy Busby, and personal stories of survival in The AIDS Generation by Perry Halkitis, along with the paperback release of Fire in the Belly by Cynthia Carr and the re-release of the comic book 7 Miles a Second by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook as a beautiful hardcopy edition. Visual AIDS also publish the book NOT OVER: 25 Years of Visual AIDS, looking at our journey of art and AIDS activism.
8. SCREENING AIDS
Before Hollywood gave us Dallas Buyers Club, independent film and video makers will sharing their stories. In March, Visual AIDS had the
pleasure of bringing together Jim Hubbard (United in Anger) and David France (How to Survive A Plague) for a conversation at the New School. We also presented the work of David Weissman (We Were Here) this summer
with CLAGS and the Leslie-Lohman Museum.
7. ARTIST AT TWERK
Okay, we'll leave the twerking to others, but Visual AIDS artist members were working it hard in a series of artist workshops for teens presented in conjunction with the New York Public Library's exhibition WHY WE FIGHT. The artists lead hands-on workshops in collage, drawing and even t-shirt design that took place at library branches in Manhattan and the Bronx. But it's not over yet - watch for more workshops in
2014!
6. GET STICKY WITH IT
People made good use of Visual
AIDS's stickers in 2013. From Play Smart to fierce pussy's "If he/she/they were alive today", the message that AIDS is not over
circulated - and hopefully stuck with people.
5. OBAMACARE, GAY MARRIAGE AND HIV
With so much media attention on healthcare and gay rights, it's disappointing that there was not more national coverage on current HIV issues. However, Visual AIDS kept the conversation going with over 20 public programs - from "Life Chances: HIV Criminalization and Trans Politics" to "(re)Presenting AIDS: Culture and Accountability" the events were an opportunity to engage in the broad yet related issues that factor into the ongoing epidemic. We also continued these dialogues online on our blog with great posts from guest writers, and interviews with engaged artists, activists and academics.
4. INSTAGRAM - NOT JUST FOR SELFIES ANYMORE
Visual AIDS joined Instagram this year, as another platform to put the visual into Visual AIDS. Check out our Instagram page now for our top images of the year.
3. BILL de BLASIO + KAY ROSEN
When Mayor Bill de Blasio starts his term in January, he might be carrying a tote bag instead of a briefcase to the office... At
the Mayoral Candidate Forum on HIV/AIDS at GMHC last July, Bill de Blasio accepted our AIDS ON GOING GOING ON tote bag
(created by Kay Rosen for Visual AIDS) and posed for a photo. He was curious and thoughtful about the bag, and we hope this attention is a
good sign of things to come.
2. IT KEEPS GROWING
Since the Visual AIDS archive launched online last year, evolving into the Visual AIDS Artist Registry,
over a 100 new artists have joined from around the world, adding even
more artistry, creativity, diversity and rigor to the largest image
collection of work created by artists living with HIV/AIDS and those who
have died due to HIV/AIDS related complications. If you are an artist living with HIV, join the registry here: ARTIST Registry
1. ART & AIDS ON THE WALL
This year saw several exhibitions (some good, some bad) that touched upon HIV/AIDS, including AIDS in New York: The First Five Years at the New-York Historical Society; WHY WE FIGHT:Remembering AIDS Activism at the New York Public Library; I, YOU, WE at the Whitney Museum; NYC 1993 at New Museum; Rosalind Solomon's Portraits in the Time of AIDS, 1988; and others. While some of these shows were better than others, what they all had in common was a looking at the past. Visual AIDS also put on 4 exhibitions this year, NOT OVER: 25 Years of Visual AIDS, Not Only This, but 'New Language Beckons Us, House In Vermont, and For The Record. Though some of these exhibitions reflect on our history, they all also look at current issues, exhibit artists living with HIV, and provoke discussions about HIV/AIDS today. Holland Cotter acknowledged this in his New York Times review when he stated:
"On the quarter-century anniversary of its founding, Visual AIDS has organized a constellation of exhibitions, events and performances, the centerpiece being 'NOT OVER: 25 Years of Visual AIDS.' The show has two basic messages: That the AIDS plague continues, and that the loss to art has been incalculable."
Thank you to all the artists, curators, activists, writers, partners, volunteers, friends, funders and fans who made the work Visual AIDS did in 2013 possible.