Courtesy of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
On December 1, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis will mark World AIDS Day
On December 1, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis will mark World AIDS Day with Day With(out) Art: Being & Belonging. The annual event features screenings of artists' videos commissioned by Visual AIDS with talks from activists by and leaders from the St. Louis region. This year’s program, “Being & Belonging” will center on the lived experiences of people living with HIV today and what the emotional landscape is like for the individual.
The event will open with remarks by Lawrence Hudson-Lewis, the Director of Prevention for Project ARK, an organization dedicated to supporting HIV-positive children, youth, women, and their families. Attendees will then have the opportunity to watch screenings of eight videos produced by artists around the world. Guests will have a chance to engage in conversation, participate in artwork activations, and receive free HIV testing and monkeypox vaccinations from Vivent Health.
We caught up with Hudson-Lewis, the co-organizer of the event, about what people can expect from Day With(out) Art 2022 and the importance of discussing HIV/AIDS today.
Can you tell us about Visual AIDS and their mission?
It is an organization that was founded back in ‘88, and they utilize art to fight AIDS by invoking dialogue, supporting HIV positive artists, and preserving a legacy—because AIDS is not over.
And what is A Day With(out) Art?
[A Day With(out) Art has] since, I believe, the Second World AIDS Day in 1989, been purchasing works of art by individuals living with HIV or those who have something to say about HIV in general. To have an expression of art is a political statement in many ways. [Part of their goal is] just to make sure that people are able to remember in meaningful ways that HIV is one of the concerns that we need to be thinking about.
What's new for this year’s Day With(out) Art?
Well, this year is a new series of short videos focusing on the theme of “Being & Belonging.” That's going to be looking at the emotional realities of living with HIV today. I haven't seen all the videos yet, but just from the summaries of them, I'm really excited to see them. [For example], I didn't know what was happening in Colombia with their government medication that caused jaundice…I'm just really excited to share this with the community. I'm also excited to see that they do have a focus on Black women this year. Because sometimes in the national conversation around HIV, Black women can be left out as a community disproportionately impacted by HIV and AIDS. So I'm glad to see that one of the videos captures that experience. Another one centers the experience of people living with HIV who identify as Black and gay. So from the U.S. perspective, I'm really excited about that. The newest one, which wasn't up when I first agreed to participate this year, is one by a South Korean artist who talks about the nuance of living with HIV and having a HIV-negative partner. I'm just really intrigued to see how all of these thoughts come together.
"Belonging" really is taking us back to the beginning of the HIV epidemic…There was always a call to address isolation and loneliness going back to the 1983 Denver Principles [which were the "foundation for the self-empowerment and self-determination for people with AIDS"]. Really it's just focusing in on how important it is to have fulfilling sexual and emotional lives and to live and die in dignity. Those are just some things that come up for me as I talk about this. I think this presentation is going to be a really exciting time for those who are able to participate.
When we consider the history of HIV and AIDS, we often specifically look at the ‘90s and what was going on in the U.S. The global perspective of Day Witho(out) Art is particularly interesting.
World AIDS Day was the first international day for global health. So it's been the archetype for all of our global health responses since 1980. And I think when we look at a variety of health conditions, pain and belonging is something that we can think about. We can think about equity. We think about how we best respond to marginalized populations. There's just so much, as a global response, that HIV has taught us that I’m really proud of, even as we come out of the COVID pandemic. Just seeing how much the efforts to connect with various populations mirrored what we do with HIV work—I just found that fascinating and encouraging to see that the tools can be used on a variety of issues.
I’m curious about the title that was chosen for the event: Being & Belonging. Where does the aspect of belonging come from in these video submissions?
For me, at least, I believe that the "belonging" piece is really about acknowledging that people living with HIV should not be alone in their journey, and that we as a society have an opportunity to embrace people as they are uniquely under those experiences and ensure equity and health care access and services as a strategy to begin to end the HIV epidemic. We have to be able to see and acknowledge and be with people wherever they are in their journey…For example, one of the areas that I know I need to grow around is the area of substance use. And I see that one of the videos is going to have a substance use focus. So there will be enough information and discussion there to allow me to grow and deepen my relationship with a portion of the community that I will not always have access to, but I can have empathy and engage with nonetheless.
Going back to your comment about acknowledging people wherever they are in their journey, those living with HIV often deal with a lot of stigma in the community. Can you speak to that?
That stigma is heartbreaking. We still see it today. Just yesterday, we were talking about clients who are struggling to achieve viral load suppression and how so many of them have unstable housing or have to share housing. People are not always comfortable talking about their health status with others, so they hide medicines, they don't take medicines. And it's so unfortunate, because the medicines are so much better tolerated and easier to take than they've ever been. Most people are on single tablet regimens these days versus hundreds of pills that you used to see in the ‘90s. And the fact that, due to the stigma, people can't just pop a pill for their health care and well-being, is very disheartening.
Why do you think it's important to focus on the lived experiences of those who have HIV today?
I think it's important to focus on the lived experience of people living with HIV because they're still here. People living with HIV are actually living with HIV. We intend for people to live a very long time if they're able to engage in health care. And that means HIV is not going anywhere—people living with HIV are not going anywhere until a cure is found. We don't have to just think about death and dying because of AIDS anymore. We need to think about health. And I think that's one reason why it's important to center the experiences of people living with HIV. For whatever reason, we have this perverse fascination with death. We can't seem to get behind an issue until we see people die. That's not the way public health should work. Public health should work by saying, “How can people live their best lives?” Not just “How can they die?” And I believe we all have an opportunity, if not an obligation, to ensure that people living with HIV can do just that: live.
Do you think that these video pieces will help motivate the community to address these public health issues?
I think so. Because if it does nothing else, it can really spark the conversation of “Do you know your own HIV status?” One of our partners will even be there offering free HIV testing, just to give people an opportunity in a safe, confidential, non-stigmatizing way, a chance to get to know that piece of information for themselves. The vast majority of people will not be diagnosed with HIV, but it's important for all of us to at least take the test. That's how we can stand in solidarity with all those we lost and all who are living today, is by taking the test. And, unfortunately, some of our health care providers don't make it easy for us, because it could be just as easy as your annual blood draw that you do for physicals, but some providers feel like there should be something more to it. And that just isn't the case, which is why the recommendation from the CDC is that people who are 13 to 64 should at least have had an HIV test and those who are sexually active should have at least one test per year. But some health care providers are not comfortable with testing, and it becomes a barrier. We can have a physical, and if you ever look at all the different labs that are done, you’re like, “What in the world is that?” But it's not an issue until they tell you there's a concern. So why can't we do that with HIV? Why can't it just be one of the mundane tests that is routinely run? And when there is a concern, it's something that we talk about.
How do videos uniquely capture the lived experience of a person who has HIV?
I feel that there's not enough visually representing those who have been living with HIV. I think that just actually seeing people living, active, thriving, engaging…is something that the [AIDS Memorial Quilt] can't do. Because the quilt, remember, it's a piece of those who have passed, but these videos really show people who are alive and thriving. And even if they're alive and struggling, they're alive. These videos really give us an opportunity to really see the life and grip of a person's lived experience and not just the memory of it.
What impact are you hoping that A Day With(out) Art: Being & Belonging will have on the St. Louis community?
My hope is that it lifts the veil for people in that it allows people to see individuals living with HIV in a different way and hopefully start some new conversations about HIV in our communities.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about the event?
Come prepared with an open heart, and come and see what these contributors to society have to share with us.
Day With(out) Art: Being & Belonging is December 1 at 5:30 p.m. It is a free event.
