WORLD AIDS DAY
NYC AIDS Memorial Debuts Audio, Video Projects
World AIDS Day reimagined due to COVID, with in-person, virtual options available
The NYC AIDS Memorial in St. Vincent’s Triangle, adjacent to the former hospital where many New Yorkers with AIDS were treated — and too many died.
BY MATT TRACY
The New York City AIDS
Memorial is observing
World AIDS Day on
December 1 with two
projects, including a month-long
nightly program at the site of the
memorial that will also feature a
lighting display.
The on-site audio project, dubbed
“Hear Me: Voices of the Epidemic,”
will bring poetry, speeches, news
reports, and music to the memorial
at St. Vincent’s Triangle in Manhattan.
The hour-long soundtrack
will run every night in December
beginning at 7 p.m., and is also
available for streaming online.
A group of activists, caregivers,
friends, and people living with
HIV/ AIDS, some for decades, recorded
separate readings for each
day of the month of more than
2,000 New Yorkers died of AIDS in
each clip. The composite recording
will run daily beginning at 10 a.m.
throughout the month.
Individuals are encouraged to
experience the audio programs so
Activist, poet, and author Brandon Lacy Campos, speaking at a 2012 Civil Liberties and Public Policy
Conference at Hampshire College, seen in “Speeches,” episode one of “A Time to Listen.”
long as they practice safe social
distancing.
“In times of uncertainty, people
look to the past for guidance,” New
York City AIDS Memorial executive
director Dave Harper said in a
written statement. “Since our dedication
on World AIDS Day in 2016,
NYC AIDS MEMORIAL
PHOTO NYC AIDS MEMORIAL
it has been the goal of the New York
City AIDS Memorial to create a living
and breathing tribute to the
100,000 New Yorkers lost to AIDS,
and to the activists and caretakers
who led the fi ght to end AIDS. This
installation will connect the power
of this place to the voices of the
past, allowing visitors to learn and
engage within our sacred space.
We are thrilled to launch a new
project that centers our organizational
mission of remembrance
during these challenging times
while also creating public awareness
of the ongoing AIDS epidemic
through educational and cultural
initiatives. We look forward to welcoming
the public to the memorial
during a time when cultural projects
have been limited by this ongoing
pandemic.”
Those who prefer to experience
virtual offerings can tune in to “A
Time to Listen,” the New York City
AIDS Memorial’s new online series
featuring six episodes related
to the epidemic. The episodes —
which have rolled out throughout
the month of November — include
oral history, news clips, and old
footage of dance songs.
The fi rst episode has speeches
by longtime activist and journalist
Ann Northrop and journalist, educator,
and activist Kenyon Farrow,
while the second episode features
New York Transgender Advocacy
Group co-founder and executive
director Kiara St. James and activist
Jason Walker.
The third installment welcomes
writer and public health advocate
Stephen Hicks, DJ Danny Krivit,
and GMHC’s Krishna Stone, who
received a Gay City News Impact
Award earlier this year.
The fourth episode brings together
Cheri, activist Cecilia Gentili
of Transgender Equity Consulting,
and Jennifer Brier, who heads
up the Gender and Women’s Studies
program at the University of Illinois
at Chicago.
In the fi fth episode, writer, organizer,
and artist Theodore Kerr
joins playwright Donja R. Love and
performer Sheldon Raymore. Kerr
also served as a creative consultant
for “Hear Me.”
The fi nal episode, focused on
storytelling, is hosted by journalist
Mathew Rodriguez and also includes
writers Alysia Abbott and
Timothy DuWhite.
Watch the episodes at https://
atimetolisten.org/.
November 26 - December 2,18 2020 | GayCityNews.com
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