最初, lxs primerxs, 第一, the firsts

My HIV+ diagnosis was in 1990. I was infected in 1989. To preserve the communal journey of People with AIDS (PWA), my efforts will be that of documentation that I am sending out to the universe. My focus is on the first wave of PWAs—my north stars—the first public servants by choice, courage and destiny. They fought for survival and expanded solutions for AIDS, and other diseases like cancer and COVID-19. Here is a spectrum of some of the individuals I knew and those I didn't, but whose lives and work shaped my odds. The People With AIDS (PWAs), who were part of the first wave, formed organizations and support groups such as ACT UP and Treatment Action Group. These organizations brought people together, provided a sense of community and empowerment, and pushed government and science to develop solutions for long term survival and preventions that never existed before.

With the invitation to curate for Visual AIDS, it gave me an opportunity to dissect that period of my life. Where I have said that HIV and AIDS was something barely on my radar, because public/government messages were that only a few people were being affected and generally in the gay male community, I now have the chance to correct that narrative. I realized that there were the first responders that were doing work that saved lives, prevented infections, created new pathways to change science. In sharing those connections I am extending the footprint of their unique, brave legacies.

He brought models from NY, and they were dressed in craft paper. As the day went by he redesigned the paper dresses with a scissor. I had heard during the workshop that Antonio had AIDS—“that thing that Rock Hudson had." I did not really know what that meant because Antonio looked “normal” and in good health.

The last month of my last semester at Art Center, Keith Haring came for several days. He spoke about running out of time and that he purposely chose the last locations for his last works to be in different art schools. During the last week of November 1989, Haring painted a mural at the Art Center for "A Day Without Art".

Another person that I crossed paths in the early days was Juan Botas, a freelance illustrator and designer from Madrid. He had just left the design firm of Milton Glaser, yes, the man that designed I Love NY, my first boss as a designer. Juan's memorial was held at Joe's Pub, where Milton was one of the speakers.

Tina Chow took care of Antonio Lopez in his last days.

Tina and Keith Haring were also friends.

Together these people modeled a pathway of mutual care created by themselves.

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At the same time there were collectives of women in prison who were doing ground breaking work. In Chowchilla, California, the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) was an exclusively female prison that lacked a licensed doctor or hospital during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Due to the absence of HIV/AIDS treatment and inadequate healthcare numerous women were dying from easily treatable health conditions.

The following video I'm You, You're Me: Women Surviving Prison, Living with AIDS, produced by Catherine Gund and Debra Levine in 1992, is an empowering look at HIV-positive women making the transition from prison to independent living.

To close out this gallery is a selection of works from the Artist+ Registry, all from artists diagnosed before the invention of HAART in 1996, making work about HIV against all odds.