What are you doing this World AIDS Day?

This World AIDS Day, Art for AIDS International is hosting two events to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and about the work that Art for AIDS is doing to support women and children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa.  Please check out the following listings and put at least one of them in on your calendar!

December 1st: Celebrate World AIDS Day with Art for AIDS @ APKLive

On December 1st, Join Art for AIDS International at the new APK Live in London and Celebrate World AIDS Day. We will be hosting a large exhibit, and some incredible local musicians. Come out to APK Live to enjoy lovely music and check out some alternative gift ideas for the Holiday season.

Come see musicians like: Richard Drew,  Emily Jarvis, Victoria Sartor and Dean McKey, Jess McKeen, and Blaise Dunn

LocationAPK Live; 340 Wellington Street, lower (Under Yuk Yuks); London, ON

RSVP on Facebook!Read more


Art for AIDS Featured on ArtStash.com

We would like to thank Sheila Creighton, author of ArtStash.com for writing a wonderful post about Art for AIDS International.  Sheila took the time to learn about Art for AIDS International and spend some time with us in our gallery so we thought it only appropriate that we shared her article with you all.

Please take a moment to check out Sheila's article by visiting ArtStash.com.

 


Art for AIDS' Vancouver Launch Success

On October 5th and 6th Art for AIDS International hosted their first workshop and first exhibit in Vancouver Canada both at the Four Seasons Hotel.  Thanks to generous sponsorship by the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver, and Starbucks both events were a huge success garnering tremendous support and enthusiasm from local teachers and business owners.

We would like to offer a special thanks to Jennifer Clay who found out about Art for AIDS International only a few months ago and took on the full initiative to plan and promote these events on our behalf.  Thanks to Jennifer's hard work, and the wonderful reception we received while in Vancouver it seems increasingly likely we will be hosting more workshops and events out west in the not-so-distant future.

To view photos from the event visit Art for AIDS on Flickr!


Twenty-two of the most affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced new HIV infections by more than 25%

Over the last 25 or so years, many individuals working on the front lines in the fight against HIV and AIDS have had to become accustomed to accepting and celebrating the little victories.  Barring a few notable exceptions where a given community or country has been able to legitimately curb and reduce the spread of HIV, many of us have excitedly relished in those moments when on an individual level, or in an individual case, a level of understanding, or the standard of living, of someone infected or affected by HIV/AIDS has improved.  Recognizing that, in aggregate, these moments are a significant variable in an eventual end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, has, however, been at times trying, especially in the face of the overwhelming AIDS statistics released annually. This is why many were ecstatic this week to learn that 22 of the worst affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced new HIV infections by over 25%.

This new data was made available in a UNAIDS press release issued September 17th, just ahead of the upcoming United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.  In it, UNAIDS Executive Secretary Michel Sidibe states that "for the first time change is happening at the heart of the epidemic. In places where HIV was stealing away dreams, we now have hope".
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Reflecting on the Art for AIDS Workshop Process

Almost a decade ago, when Art for AIDS International's primary concern was encouraging professional artists to respond to the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, an opportunity came forward to host a workshop with students from the London District Catholic School Board.  While this was not our primary focus, we leaped at the opportunity to engage young people through art and teach them a bit more about issues related to HIV/AIDS and social justice generally.  Little did we know, however, that not only would the students respond with incredible passion and enthusiasm during these first few workshops, but, that they would also produce incredible and engaging works of art during them as well.  It was for this reason that we immediately shifted the focus of our project away from our International Portfolio toward helping young people get creative in understanding and addressing HIV/AIDS in their own community and abroad.  Since these first workshops, we have been privileged to host nearly 200 workshops with over 10,000 students from across Canada, South Africa, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Uganda, and the United States.

With upcoming workshops scheduled in Durban, Vancouver, Toronto, and London, as well as upcoming exhibitions and fundraisers in Spain, South Africa, and multiple Canadian shows, we felt it necessary not only to share our impression of the workshops with you, but also the impressions of those that ultimately matter most: the participating students.

Below you will find four statements written by past participants, all of whom have moved on and become active members of their community. Please enjoy and, whether or not you have been to a show, or attended a workshop, we  encourage your comments below!Read more


Upcoming Summer Events

Once again we are gearing up for a busy summer season of outdoor festivals and art exhibits.  June is shaping up to be a crazy busy month. Fresh on the heels of our successful Exhibit at Toronto’s iconic Gladstone Hotel, we continue to expand our profile into the Toronto area with a new Exhibit opening at the Steam Whistle Brewery’s Art Gallery.  We will be displaying our most recent artwork along with old favourites for the entire month in its wonderful Roundhouse.

Shortly after the Steam Whistle opening, we will be in downtown Sarnia on Saturday June 5th and 6th participating at its big outdoor festival called ArtWalk. It will be our first time participating and we are excited to bring our unique message of art and social consciousness to this part of Ontario.

While some of us are still in Sarnia, Hendrikus Bervoets, the Executive Director of Art for AIDS International, will be back in Toronto displaying our wares for four days throughout the child welfare conference of the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.

The last weekend of June (the 25th, 26th, and 27th) finds us back in our hometown of London Ontario for the International Food Festival.  It will be our first year participating at this event.  There will be music along with lots of interesting food from all over the world and we always find that a conducive environment for communicating our message and selling our artwork.

Summer in the city will find us once again participating in London’s premier outdoor festivals at Victoria Park.  Sunfest occurs the second weekend in July the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th.  Sunfest, with its multicultural theme of music from all over the world, is a wonderful place for us to meet people from differing cultural backgrounds. They make a very receptive audience for our international artwork that has been created in six countries from around the world.

We have two weeks to recover before we participate in London’s well-known and loved Ribfest that runs from July 29 to August 2.  Ribfest is always a popular destination for Londoners to visit during the Civic holiday weekend and we certainly have a great time being part of it.

We are particularly pleased to have such a busy summer schedule because it provides us with multiple venues in which to display all the new interesting and dynamic artwork that we have created in the last several months. We are looking forward to showing off our new collages from recent workshops in Johannesburg South Africa, schools here in Ontario, and artwork from Katimavik young people from all over Canada who are participating in Canada’s number 1 volunteer program.

Please come visit us. We hope to talk to as many people as possible this summer about what we do at Art for AIDS.  We remain committed to our unique style of social justice that expresses itself through art as a way to raise much-needed funds for a serious global issue.