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Day With(out) Art: ALTERNATE ENDINGS, RADICAL BEGINNINGS

Friday, December 1, 2017, 7 p.m.

The film still features a close-up shot of a woman with dark brown, curly hair. She is positioned to the right of the shot, with only her head, neck and shoulder visible. She has orange paint on her face around her eyes and is bearing statement earrings and a sparkly necklace adorned with rhinestones. Although cut off, her hand can be seen in the frame, holding a full martini glass. The image features a hot pink filter, adding to the sense of drama. In the background is a shirtless, bald man wearing a necklace.

Reina Gossett, Atlantic is a Sea of Bones, 2017. Video still courtesy of the artist.

Curated by Erin Christovale and Vivian Crockett for Visual AIDS, ALTERNATE ENDINGS, RADICAL BEGINNINGS, the 28th iteration of Visual AIDS’ longstanding Day With(out) Art project, prioritizes Black narratives within the ongoing AIDS epidemic, commissioning seven artists—Mykki Blanco, Cheryl Dunye and Ellen Spiro, Reina Gossett, Thomas Allen Harris, Kia Labeija, Tiona McClodden and Brontez Purnell—to create new and innovative short videos.

The commissioned projects include intimate meditations of young HIV positive protagonists; a consideration of community-based HIV/AIDS activism in the South; explorations of the legacies and contemporary resonances within AIDS archives; a poetic journey through New York exploring historical traces of queer and trans life, and more. Together, the videos provide a platform centering voices deeply impacted by the ongoing epidemic.

The project is supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and the generous support of The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

This event is co-presented with Visual AIDS.

Visual AIDS