"Transformation:" An HIV/AIDS Art Exhibit
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
In light of World Aids Day on Thursday, December 1, many peer-health advocates from The New School and the greater community of New York City participated in creation of “An Art Exhibit of Transformation.”
“I think our goal of the art exhibit wasn't just to give voice to people who are living with HIV/AIDS, but we chose ‘Transformation’ as a name because we’ve all been impacted by HIV/AIDS, whether [physically] affected or not,” said Tamara Oyloa- Santiago, health educator of Student Health Services and the administrative leader of this exhibition.
“It’s a pandemic that has impacted all of us. And so we really wanted to just give everybody the opportunity to express what that meant to them.”
One of the art pieces is a small painting called “Knowledge is Power” created by Sarah Lorya, a resident advisor at the Stuyvesant Park dorm. She painted Africa with reds, oranges and yellows and highlighted Sudan in black.
The exhibition was co-sponsored by The New School Student Health Services, Housing Works, and New School organizations Global Studiest, Queerocracy and Lang Arts.
From November 29 to December 8, the exhibition was held at 80 Fifth Ave., the third floor in the waiting room of Student Health Services. Between December 9 to 19, most of the artwork will be displayed at 66 W. 12th St. on the fourth floor walkway over the Lang courtyard. However some of the larger pieces remain in the waiting room of Student Health Services due to their fragility and heaviness.
Most of the art works are paintings yet some are drawings, masks, mixed media pieces and more.
Gabriella Perez, program assistant of wellness and health promotion at Student Health Services and a junior in fine arts at Parsons, came up with this theme since her family has been affected by HIV/AIDS. She was the primary organizer.
According to the organization’s website, “Housing Works is a healing community of
people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.” Fifteen to 20 clients who are currently living with HIV/AIDS created their own art works.
Some New School students also participated. Resident advisors of the Stuyvesant Park dorm Sarah Lorya and Antonio Romero partnered with a creative arts therapist at Student Health Services, Kelly Linhardt, to hold a workshop in their dorm for students to produce art pieces.
“There’s a small amount of work from Stuyvesant dorm but a lot of it is from Housing Works,” stated Perez.
Eleni Litt, another creative arts therapist at The New School who leads The Day of Wellness, a New School event where students can “de-stress,” encouraged students
to create art pieces and they are part of this exhibition.
Oyloa-Santiago stated, “I’m just very inspired by what I saw and every time I walk into Student Health Services, I feel very honored to work at a university that celebrates life and that exclamented to social justice and eradicating HIV/AIDS.”
“I think our goal of the art exhibit wasn't just to give voice to people who are living with HIV/AIDS, but we chose ‘Transformation’ as a name because we’ve all been impacted by HIV/AIDS, whether [physically] affected or not,” said Tamara Oyloa- Santiago, health educator of Student Health Services and the administrative leader of this exhibition.
“It’s a pandemic that has impacted all of us. And so we really wanted to just give everybody the opportunity to express what that meant to them.”
One of the art pieces is a small painting called “Knowledge is Power” created by Sarah Lorya, a resident advisor at the Stuyvesant Park dorm. She painted Africa with reds, oranges and yellows and highlighted Sudan in black.
The exhibition was co-sponsored by The New School Student Health Services, Housing Works, and New School organizations Global Studiest, Queerocracy and Lang Arts.
From November 29 to December 8, the exhibition was held at 80 Fifth Ave., the third floor in the waiting room of Student Health Services. Between December 9 to 19, most of the artwork will be displayed at 66 W. 12th St. on the fourth floor walkway over the Lang courtyard. However some of the larger pieces remain in the waiting room of Student Health Services due to their fragility and heaviness.
Most of the art works are paintings yet some are drawings, masks, mixed media pieces and more.
Gabriella Perez, program assistant of wellness and health promotion at Student Health Services and a junior in fine arts at Parsons, came up with this theme since her family has been affected by HIV/AIDS. She was the primary organizer.
According to the organization’s website, “Housing Works is a healing community of
people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.” Fifteen to 20 clients who are currently living with HIV/AIDS created their own art works.
Some New School students also participated. Resident advisors of the Stuyvesant Park dorm Sarah Lorya and Antonio Romero partnered with a creative arts therapist at Student Health Services, Kelly Linhardt, to hold a workshop in their dorm for students to produce art pieces.
“There’s a small amount of work from Stuyvesant dorm but a lot of it is from Housing Works,” stated Perez.
Eleni Litt, another creative arts therapist at The New School who leads The Day of Wellness, a New School event where students can “de-stress,” encouraged students
to create art pieces and they are part of this exhibition.
Oyloa-Santiago stated, “I’m just very inspired by what I saw and every time I walk into Student Health Services, I feel very honored to work at a university that celebrates life and that exclamented to social justice and eradicating HIV/AIDS.”
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