NEWSBREAK World AIDS Day 2018: I Still Remember La Vie Galerie LLC, Livingston, New Jersey’s new arts venue, will commemorate World AIDS Day 2018 (December 1, 2018) with an exhibit of a new “photography narrative,” that is, a fictionalized narrative told in a cinematic style of storytelling using still photography. The narrative for “I Still Remember” was conceived and directed by gallery owner, Vladimir Rios, and photographed by award-winning photographer, Lester Blum [A&U, August 2016]. It tells a story of love, devastation, and remembrance in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many gay men who lived through that time will recognize both the storyline and the characters in the narrative. “It was a time,” La Vie Gallerie says in its press release, “when men sought an immediate connection, a search for permanence, and a commitment of love,” in the years immediately before the chaotic devastation of the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. Fear, rejection, declining health, all became the new normal for many after 1981. When one of the characters in the narrative dies, his lover and friends gather on Fire Island to celebrate his life, keeping him and others alive in their memories. “I Still Remember” is designed to convey to the viewer both the joy and heartbreak of the era. “I Still Remember” was conceived and executed not only to memorialize those whom we lost to the pandemic, but also to remind all of us that the fight against HIV/AIDS is not over, recognizing how important it is for us to understand our past as we work towards a cure and elimination of the virus. The new La Vie Galerie LLC, opened in October 2018, is a multi-room gallery which exhibits “emerging, mid-career, and established artists creating contemporary paintings, fine art photography, sculptures, ceramics, and jewelry.” The mission of the La Vie Galerie LLC is two-fold: to provide its artists greater exposure to a new market and to present special exhibits pertaining to social issues, such as “I Still Remember.” La Vie Galerie LLC, 106 Naylon Aveue, Livingston, New Jersey, 07039 , may be reached by phone at (917) 621-7255 and by email at LaViegalerie@gmail.com; “I Still Remember” opens on World AIDS Day 2018, December 1, 2018.
Desmond Tutu Award for HIV Prevention Research and Human Rights The 2018 Desmond Tutu Award for HIV Prevention Research and Human Rights was presented to HIV researcher, physician and community advocate Linda-Gail Bekker of Cape Town, South Africa. The presentation was made at the Opening Plenary of this year’s HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P 2018) on Monday, October 22, in Madrid, Spain. Named in honor of South African cleric Desmond Tutu, one of the leading global advocates for HIV prevention, the Tutu award is presented every two years to an individual or organization that has worked to advance both HIV prevention research and the human rights of people affected by HIV. HIVR4P Co-chair Z Mike Chirenje of the University of Zimbabwe was effusive in his praise of Bekker. “Linda-Gail Bekker is a tireless and innovative leader of efforts to ensure effective HIV prevention for all,” he said. “From her clinics in the impoverished Masiphumelele
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A&U • NOVEMBER 2018