CARRYING VISUAL AIDS FORWARD WHILE REMEMBERING WHERE WE COME FROM: Visual AIDS has uplifted artists living with HIV and stewarded the legacies of those lost to AIDS since 1988. The shape of the AIDS crisis has evolved since our beginnings, but we remain committed to honoring where we started and carrying forward contemporary dialogue around HIV and AIDS into the future. The Red Ribbon, now a global symbol in the fight against AIDS, is the history of Visual AIDS–from the height of the Crisis into 2025, we celebrate who is here, we remember who is not.

With the support of our community, this past year we were able to hire a full-time Community Archivist, screen Day With(out) Art in 10+ languages at 130+ worldwide institutions; launch our first ever Research Symposium; and continue to invest in artists living with HIV and those lost to AIDS.

Since 1988, Visual AIDS continues to:

Each year we disburse $55,000 in direct financial support to artists through our Artist Support Grant program. Every $400 we raise ensures a Visual AIDS Artist Member has access to this support. Support for Visual AIDS Artist Support Grants helps ensure the creation of work like Prophylactic Effigy, 2021 (featured above) by Artist Member Stephen Gemberling.

Above: Hunter Reynolds (1959-2022), Love Light Bed, 1992-94, the artist was featured as a subject by 2024 Research Fellow Adam Ash Barbu

Our newly published finding aid provides access points and biographical information on 413 artists represented in the Visual AIDS Artist Files. In 2025 we will begin to acquire new collections of artist’s personal papers, enriching our ability to bring these legacies to light. The Visual AIDS Archive has helped steward legacies since 1994 and serves as the heart of our work. We now feature an annual Research Fellowship and symposium to highlight underknown artists lost to AIDS as well as exhibitions, publications, and access points for research for the wider public. Our archive is the only one of its kind in the world.

Above: women from our Women's Empowerment Art Therapy Workshops outside of Gregg Bordowitz's harm reduction exhibition at MoMA PS1. We will host another harm reduction exhibition at MoMA PS1 in Spring 2025.

In 2025, our Women’s Empowerment Art Therapy Group partnered with Groundswell to produce a public mural in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, highlighting the experiences and needs of Black women living with HIV. Brooklyn has the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in New York, and Black women represent 75% of new diagnoses in women. $10,000 of funds raised will support this new mural project.

Celebrate who is here. Remember who is not. Support Visual AIDS!

By Visual AIDS

Celebrate who is here. Remember who is not. Support Visual AIDS!

Support the work of Visual AIDS

Team Members