The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the Graduate Center of CUNY (CLAGS) and Visual AIDS present

AIDS/ART/WORK

Cosponsored by the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation

30 May 2008
CUNY Graduate Center
9am-5pm

This one-day conference will explore the pasts, presents, and futures of AIDS art, AIDS activism, and AIDS prevention, and the connections between them. In a series of panels and a culminating roundtable, AIDS/Art/Work will look at the often productive, sometimes uneasy relationships between art inspired by AIDS and HIV/AIDS prevention, focusing on the following concerns:

Art/Work: What does AIDS art look like? Is there such a thing as an AIDS art aesthetic and if so how has it changed over time? What is the relationship between so-called avant-garde or conceptual art and representational art within the framework of ‘AIDS art’? Do we evaluate art whose purpose is to educate about, or prevent, HIV/AIDS differently from art that doesn’t have ‘utility’? Is ‘AIDS art’ beyond criticism?

AIDS/Art/Movement: How might we historicize and understand the AIDS activist movement in relation to artistic production? What part have AIDS-inspired artists played in stimulating political change? How did AIDS-related art change the course of the ‘Culture Wars’? Is there a continuing disjuncture between ‘militant’ art and work that expresses grief and loss? When AIDS art itself becomes institutionalized via the museum, the university, or the archive, what happens to its political power?

Art/AIDS/Prevention: Can art save our lives? What can we learn from the histories of AIDS activism, AIDS art, and HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns? Have these collaborations worked? How do we define effectiveness in prevention? How have, or can, artists work with activists and HIV/AIDS service agencies to create useful campaigns? In today’s overheated art market, how do emerging artists connect with the legacy of HIV/AIDS and its art? What threats remain and work needs to be done?

Registration is $30 for the day (or $20 for students, artists, and individuals with limited income) and includes breakfast, lunch, and a concluding reception. The event is free for GC students with a valid student ID. To register, go to the CLAGS donation page, enter $30 or $20 as the donation amount and select "Visual AIDS Registration" under "Your Support." For more information, contact Naveed Alam at clags@gc.cuny.edu or (212) 817-1955.