DC orgs and artists unite to raise awareness about HIV crisis in DC

Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (TheARC, Washington DC) – February 7th, 2011

I was asked to curate a  Mobile Digital art exhibition for CMS Healthcare Initiatives’ Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, an event informing DC residents in underserved areas about HIV prevention and health resources.  By now, Im sure that everyone knows that I’m willing to support just about any initiative that helps to support and sustain young people in the world.  However, when I read a list of HIV statistics among the african american population in DC, it became a sort of urgency for me to get involved.  The HIV/AIDs rate in DC is alarmingly high–about 12 times the National average.  I shared this with my international friends and was overwhelmed (pleasantly) by the amount of support and participation I received for this event.

The exhibition included the works of 24 Artists (most of whom participated in the previous “A Healing Touch” Exhibition.)  It also included a few interactive activities including iPad drawing station for attendees to test their creative skill, a fingerpainting demo and additional multi-media works to help inform about HIV/AIDS statistics among the African American community in DC.  Works were also donated to the event’s raffle.  Photos and artwork from the event can be found here. Or, you can click here for a list of the participating artists.

To learn more about the HIV/AIDS stats among DC’s African American community, play the YouTube video below (video was fully drawn, recorded, animated, edited and even loaded to YouTube using an iPhone 4G and an iPad.)