The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) and AIDS Alabama will present the internationally acclaimed photo exhibit Through Positive Eyes in BCRI’s Orientation Theatre Hallway from Tuesday, December 3, 2013 through January 31, 2014. Through Positive Eyes is an international photography project that gives people living with HIV and AIDS the opportunity to pick up their own cameras, create art, and document the reality of their lives. By doing so, they create artworks that serve as tools for combating stigma, one of the most formidable barriers to reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS today.
Over the next two years, HIV-positive people in six countries and on five continents will take part in this unique initiative, creating powerful personal photo essays. From these images, local and international advocacy materials will be developed. The project is a collaboration between the prize-winning South African photographer Gideon Mendel and the UCLA Art & Global Health Center, which is housed within the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance.
“Through Positive Eyes succeeds as both advocacy and art,” stated Ahmad Ward, BCRI Head of Education and Exhibition. “The collection reveals how people in vastly different cultures, contexts, and circumstances respond when faced with the challenges of living with HIV. These are important stories that must be told.”
Through Positive Eyes is supported by a generous grant from The Herb Ritts Foundation. Other major funders include: The Ford Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), STD/AIDS Prevention Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator’s Office, HIV/AIDS Prevention Unit of the Los Angeles Unified School District, University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS), UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, UCLA International Institute, and UCLA AIDS Institute.
