For World AIDS Day – Day With(out) Art on December 1, 2015, Visual AIDS and Dimensions Variable will present RADIANT PRESENCE, a digital slideshow featuring artwork by artists living with HIV/AIDS and those who are no longer with us, interspersed with current statistics and information about HIV/AIDS today. RADIANT PRESENCE will be publicly projected in Miami for Miami Art Week on December 1st from 6:00 – 9:00 PM on the exterior of Dimensions Variable, 100 NE 11 Street, West Wing wall, Miami.
For this year’s Day With(out) Art 2015, Visual AIDS collaborated with 9 influential artists, activists and curators— Bill Arning, Ian Alteveer, Chris Vargas, Rae Lewis-Thornton, Mark S. King, Allen Frame, Maria Mejia, Jack Mackenroth, and Kimberly Drew—to present RADIANT PRESENCE.
RADIANT PRESENCE is a digital slideshow with images from the Visual AIDS’ Artist+ Registry, the largest database of works by artists with HIV/AIDS. RADIANT PRESENCE features artwork by artists living with HIV/AIDS and those who are no longer with us. The artwork is interspersed with current statistics and information about HIV/AIDS today.
For the 26th annual Day With(out) Art, Visual AIDS has partnered with art institutions, AIDS-service organizations, and universities for screenings and public programs to highlight RADIANT PRESENCE internationally. Visual AIDS has also coordinated large-scale outdoor projections of RADIANT PRESENCE in highly visible public locations in New York City, San Francisco and Miami (during Art Basel). The RADIANT PRESENCE video will also premiere on Visual AIDS’ website (visualaids.org) on December 1, with a widespread social media campaign to distribute the project.
At this point in the AIDS epidemic, over 39 million people have died of AIDS-related causes. The nature of the crisis has changed, however, so that nearly just as many people, 36 million, are living with HIV today. In this context, RADIANT PRESENCE showcases the resilience and vitality of Visual AIDS’ Artist Members and their artwork, preserving the radiance of those who have passed while provoking dialogue about the needs and experiences of people living with HIV.
RADIANT PRESENCE provokes conversations about HIV criminalization and stigma, access to treatment, the shifting demographics of people living with HIV and the disproportionate effect of the epidemic on communities of color and transwomen.
RADIANT PRESENCE is inspired by the 25th Anniversary of Electric Blanket, an epic slide show about AIDS created by photographers Nan Goldin, Allen Frame and Frank Franca for Visual AIDS which intersperses the work of over 200 photographers with slide texts that include demographics, data, and slogans about AIDS worldwide. The slide show, initially projected on the façade of Cooper Union on December 1, 1990, was later projected on public walls and buildings internationally.
On and around World AIDS Day, December 1, 2015, RADIANT PRESENCE will reach thousands of viewers through public screenings, social media and public programs in museums, art institutions, universities, AIDS service organizations and online venues.
Featured Artists
Stephen Andrews, AZT, Jurgen Baldiga, Bizzy Barefoot, Barton Lidice Beneš, Luis Carle, Walt Cessna, Tseng Kwong Chi, Lucretia Crichlow, Darkroom Danny, Chloe Dzubilo, Brent Nicholson Earle, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Benjamin Fredrickson, Tim Greathouse, Max Greenberg, Carlos Gutierrez-Solana, Veritee Reed Hall, John Hanning, W. Benjamin Incerti, Derek Jackson, Shan Kelley, Kia Labeija, Nancer LeMoins, David McDiarmid, Joyce McDonald, Kissa Millar, Mark Morrisroe, Jon Nalley, Ray Navarro, Luna Luis Ortiz, Richard Renaldi, Hunter Reynolds, Juan Rivera, Eric Rhein, Jeffrey Scott, Steed Taylor, Hector Toscano, L. Robert Westeen, Jorge Veras, Bruce Volpone, Albert Winn, Martin Wong, David Wojnarowicz, Lina Yaroslavska.
Where to View
Brooklyn Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The New Museum, Center for Curatorial Studies: Bard College, Hammer Museum, Commonwealth and Council, The Contemporary Austin, Harvard Art Museum, School of the Art Institute Chicago, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, The Andy Warhol Museum, RISD Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and more. Visit the Visual AIDS website for a complete list.