25 Years - through Stories | The Artistic Response to AIDS
In North America, the earliest artistic responses to AIDS were through gay activist artwork, reflecting the epidemiology of the initial stages of the epidemic. In the early years, HIV/AIDS predominantly affected gay and bisexual men. This was a time when HIV drug treatments were non-existent, government responses to AIDS were slow and reluctant, homophobia and stigma were rampant, and AIDS invariably led to death. Gay men – who were often involved in creative work such as visual art, dance and fashion – used their art to respond to HIV/AIDS. Throughout the history of HIV/AIDS, art has continued to be used as a form of protest, education and to invoke community mobilization.
One of the most memorable pieces of artwork from this early period which is still used today comes from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) – a pink triangle, a symbol of the gay liberation movement, with the words “Silence = Death”. ACT-UP was also the creator of such pieces as “Fight Homophobia, Fight AIDS” and “Let the Record Show”, all of which drew the links between homophobia and inaction on AIDS.
Here in Canada, General Idea, a three-member art collective founded in 1969, addressed the AIDS crisis through their pioneering conceptual and media-based art. From 1987 through 1994, members Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson addressed the AIDS crisis, with work that included some 75 temporary public art projects. Their major installation, One Year of AZT/One Day of AZT, was featured as a project at the Museum of Modern Art and now resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. In 2006, the three giant inflatable pills from their 1991 work PLA©EBO were displayed during Toronto's Nuit Blanche.
As more was learned about HIV and AIDS, and as the epidemic spread to more and diverse communities, artistic responses included representations of experiences of those outside of the gay community. Artist Jackie Kirk compiled a series of paintings featuring facial portraits of all kinds of people living with AIDS, including men, women, youth, seniors and people from diverse backgrounds.
At the same time, artists living with HIV/AIDS became more prominent, including Canadian artist Joe Average. Diagnosed HIV+ at age 27, Average made the decision to commit the rest of his life to art, and to challenge himself to live by his art. His artwork was featured at the International AIDS Conference held in Vancouver in 1996; this artwork was then reproduced on the first-ever Canadian stamp acknowledging HIV/AIDS. Since then, his artwork has been featured in the national AIDS Walk for Life.
Artistic responses to HIV/AIDS have also included the fundraising benefit for the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) called Fashion Cares. Founded in 1987 by members of the local fashion community to raise funds for a disease that has had a devastating impact on members of the fashion design community, Fashion Cares has now grown into the largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser in Canada and one of the premier fashion events in North America. Since its inception, it has morphed into a full-fledged spectacle that includes a fashion show and live performances from headlining musical acts. It has raised over $10 million over the years for ACT’s programs and services for people living with, affected by, and at risk for HIV/AIDS.
Dancers for Life, founded in 1988 and held until 2001, was another artistic community response to a disease affecting gay men involved with dance. Held as a benefit for ACT, the event featured a wide variety of dance performances with the goal of raising funds for programs and services for people living with HIV/AIDS in Toronto.
As the newest major fundraiser for the AIDS Committee of Toronto, SNAP! (founded in 2002) is another contribution from the arts community to support vital HIV/AIDS programs and services. A photographic art auction, it has featured pieces from internationally renowned photographers as well as the best up-and-coming Canadian talent.
For the gay community, the arts have historically been used as a tool to deal with and combat oppression, and this played a significant role in the development of an artistic response to HIV/AIDS. It has been used as a tool of protest, education and resilience for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. These artistic responses have left a legacy of experiences of individuals and communities that remain with us today and have formed an important part of the history of the pandemic.
