Saturday, Dec. 1st is World AIDS Day -- an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection, and mourning those who have died of the disease. This year marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day's inception.
This coming week -- on December 4th -- also marks what would have been Richard Amsel's 71st birthday, so I felt it was only fitting to finally unveil the panel I had made earlier this year for inclusion within the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
These past few months I'd been wrestling with trying to find a suitable venue for showing the panel. I originally hoped to display it along with some of Amsel's original artwork; I reached out to a number of local art galleries, colleges and universities, city libraries, city halls, and LGBT resources. Alas...in all cases, there just either wasn't enough time or space to meet this particular date.
We're therefore going to try something a little less formal, but perhaps a bit more fitting to mark the occasion -- holding up the panel this afternoon at 1:30 pm, near The Wall Las Memorias AIDS Monument in Los Angeles. (Coincidentally, today will also be the monument's 25th anniversary.)
Those who wish to attend may find us here:
3600 N. Mission Rd Los Angeles, CA 90031
1:30 pm Pacific Time
I don't know how crowded (or empty) this area will be when we're there, as formal activities marking World AIDS Day aren't scheduled until 5pm. We don't want to intrude on them, and filming would be much easier for us with less crowds and more daylight. If all goes well, I'll post pictures later this afternoon...and will show everyone the quilt panel itself.
I'm planning another display within the next two weeks, and will post more information soon.
Special thanks to Andres Magaña of The Wall Las Memorias AIDS Monument staff for advising us on this event.
CLICK HERE to continue to the next post about World AIDS Day and the Amsel quilt.
