World AIDS Day 2023
Candlelight Vigil
Friday December 1st, 5:30pm Equality Community Center due to rain
Battery operated candles provided as supplies last
Followed by a performance from the Maine Gay Men's Chorus
"Gone and For Ever" Film Screening
Friday December 1st, 6:15pm
Equality Community Center, 15 Casco St. Portland ME
The short film chronicles "Gone and For Ever" a multidisciplinary memorial to the HIV/AIDS crisis conceived by Alex Stadler and created in partnership with artists, activists, community leaders, and individuals who have shared their stories.
The film screening will be followed by a brief panel discussion with Alex Stadler and contributing artist aAliy A. Muhammad, moderated by Theo Greene, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology at Bowdoin College
aAliy Muhammad
They/Them
Theo Greene, PhD
He/Him
aAliy A. Muhammad is a Philadelphia born/raised queer Black muslim writer. In their work they often problematize medical surveillance, discuss the importance of bodily autonomy and center Blackness. aAliy is the creator of Black Reverence Chair, a joy and affirmation ritual. They are a co-convener of Finding Ceremony, a descendant community-controlled process, restoring the lineages of care, reverence, and spiritual memory to the work of caring for our dead.
Theo is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Bowdoin College. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of sexuality, urbanism, and culture. His award-winning research broadly uses sexual communities to understand how urban redevelopment shape and reconfigure how individuals conceptualize, identify to, and participate in local communities.
Alex Stadler
He/Him
Alex Stadler is a multidisciplinary artist, author, textile designer, illustrator, producer and curator. Stadler has written and illustrated more than 10 published books for children and adults. In June of 2022, Stadler created a public ceremony and memorial procession in honor of the unclaimed of the early years of the AIDS crisis which began at the William Way Community Center and then moved through the streets of Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood. This collaborative work involving the work of living and deceased artists and designers chosen by Stadler was entitled Gone and For Ever, was produced through a grant from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. Commissioned work for the piece included a work of chamber music composed by Kinan Abou-afach, sheltering shrouds by Liz Collins, ceremonial costume by Claire Fleury and angelic armor by The Henry, ceramic urns created by Stadler, and written work by the novelist Christopher Coe and the poets Melvin Dixon, Reinaldo Arenas and Cookie Mueller.
Thank you to our sponsors and partners for making this possible!
Commemorate and reflect on World AIDS Day with Frannie Peabody Center
World AIDS Day is an important time for our community to come together to honor our friends, family, and loved ones who have passed from HIV/AIDS, but also to support and encourage those who are still living with or impacted by this disease.
Why Do We Wear A Red Ribbon?
Created in 1991 by a group of artists known as "Visual AIDS", the red ribbon was designed to be a powerful visual representation of compassion for people living with HIV and their care givers. We continue to wear this symbol proudly to show solidarity with those living with or impacted by HIV/AIDS, and to commemorate and honor those who have passed. This ribbon has become an international symbol of hope, courage, and empathy as a community, and we proudly wear it to show our dedication to fight for the end of HIV/AIDS. Click here for more information about the Red Ribbon Project.
