Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster
University Gallery presents a satellite exhibition in collaboration with Memorial Art Gallery’s “Up Against the Wall” main exhibition. The 42 HIV/AIDS posters in the RIT exhibition — on view March 14-April 8 — showcase a range of public health communication strategies employed globally from 1987-2011.
Many of the posters counter AIDS stigma and encourage compassion for those living with HIV/AIDS; other posters use scare tactics to discourage viewers from participating in risky behaviors. Some posters utilize humor and sexually explicit images to encourage safer sex practices such as condom use, while other posters reinforce negative racial stereotypes. The exhibition includes some of the most iconic HIV/AIDS posters, including those featuring artwork by pop artist Keith Haring, as well as rare posters, such as the Braille poster produced by the French AIDS organization CRIPS.
The RIT exhibition is co-curated by Dr. Tamar Carroll of the RIT Department of History and Melissa Warp of New Media Design, with the assistance of School of Individualized Study student Circle Cole.
Related programming at RIT includes:
- "I'm Still Surviving: A Living Women's History of HIV/AIDS" — a discussion with historian Dr. Jennie Brier and designer Matt Wizinsky " | Thursday, March 17, from 3:30-4:45 p.m. in University Gallery
- Closing reception — Thursday, April 7, from 4:30-6:30 in University Gallery
The RIT Press publication Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism and the AIDS Poster can be found on its website.
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No