A Day With Artists

This year, we are launching A Day With Artists to commemorate World AIDS Day. A Day With Artists will create educational opportunities for young people in schools to meet with artists living with HIV/AIDS. Day With Artists will achieve many goals. First, it will build awareness of HIV/AIDS among a key "at-risk" population - 50% of all new HIV infections in the United States occur in people under the age of 25. Next, it will focus attention on the achievements of artists living with HIV/AIDS by giving them a platform to show and discuss their work. It will connect young people with contemporary artists fostering discussion of artistic content and process as well as the social and personal conditions that affect artists' work.

Schools may schedule artists for one class period or a whole day of visiting artists' time. Day With Artists is not limited to schools. Museums and galleries can host events that bring students and HIV-positive artists together for educational activities such as tours, panels, or presentations. Ideally, Day With Artists events will take place on World AIDS Day (December 1); however, to allow maximum participation, we are expanding the window of the project to run from November 27 to December 8, 2000. Visual AIDS will act as a "broker" by making the connections between participants. We will distribute information on HIV/AIDS in general and, in particular, show the tremendous contribution people living with HIV/AIDS have made to the contemporary art world.

If you are interested in participating in Day With Artists, please contact us at Visual AIDS (212-627-9855 or visaids@earthlink.net). We would be happy to facilitate a presentation by one or more of our artists. Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you think might be participate in this important event.