Trinity Episcopal Cathedral opened the Olney Gallery to the public Dec. 5 for its World AIDS Day Art Exhibit and AIDS Memorial Quilt panels.
Participating artists will show off their one-of-a-kind HIV/AIDS awareness inspired artwork for free at the cathedral, near Central Avenue and Roosevelt Street, until Dec. 19.
Cathedral Arts and Gallery Director Manny Burruel said the inspiration to dedicate an exhibit to HIV/AIDS awareness came from within. Several clergy members of the cathedral were actively involved in helping AIDS victims in the 1980s, when it became an epidemic.
“We put a call out for artists and 28 responded,” Burruel said. “The assignment was to create art inspired by awareness or tribute pieces to those who had suffered from the disease.”
The inception of the exhibit began one year ago when the gallery contacted The NAMES Project Foundation. The foundation is the custodian of The AIDS Memorial Quilt.
A small group of strangers gathered on a June day in 1987 in a San Francisco storefront to create a memorial for those who had died of AIDS. This meeting of devoted friends and lovers served as the foundation of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, according to their history. More than 48,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels currently make up the quilt.
The cathedral rented four 12-by-12-foot quilt panels, all handmade and of personal sentiment to staff. Each panel is made up of visuals in memory of loved ones close to those in the congregation that were lost to AIDS.
A decorated tree with handmade ornaments from participating artists stands in the center of the exhibit. The ornaments are purchasable for $20, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Joshua Tree Feeding Program and Aunt Rita’s Foundation.
Joshua Tree Feeding Program provides nourishment to low-income HIV positive residents in Maricopa County. Aunt Rita’s Foundation envisions themselves as a catalyst of HIV/AIDS awareness, education and support. Both organizations are active in the Valley, as well as the LGBT community.
“About one out of five people walking down the street are HIV positive and don’t even know it,” said Joshua Tree Vice Chairman Peter Rodriguez. “There’s a misconception that it’s not a problem and people aren’t talking about it.”
Rodriguez has been living with HIV for 32 years and has lost many loved ones to AIDS. He emphasized the need for people to get tested and protect themselves.
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral will continue to host AIDS awareness events all month long.
The cathedral will sponsor Quilt Songs, a benefit concert, on Dec. 11, with live performances by local musicians inspired by the AIDS crisis. All proceeds benefit Aunt Rita’s Foundation. General admission will be $20. Student and senior admission will be $10. Performances will include songs that speak openly about sexuality, sex work and condom use.
On Dec. 19, the cathedral will host a forum of three guest speakers who currently live with HIV. “Living With HIV Today: My Story” will address the three personal experiences and open up to questions and discussion about the disease.
Cathedral members Venerable Canon Veronica Ritson, who was actively invoked in the AIDS ministry at the height of the AIDS crisis, and Reverend Deacon Myra Kingsley, who was in nursing school at the time of the crisis, welcome these awareness events.
“We need to remember those who died of AIDS,” Kingsley said. “The disease is not eradicated; it’s still a killer. We also need to remember that many folks with AIDS were treated badly because of fear and prejudice.”
Contact the reporter at kkondrat@asu.edu
