December 1
A Day Without Art
AIDS Awareness Day
In Memory of All Artists Who Died of AIDS
On December 1, 1989, loss prompted artists in New York to organize the first “A Day Without Art.” Some galleries closed their doors in mourning for the day or shrouded paintings. Theaters were silent and dark. Communities across the nation observed “A Day Without Art” with silence. And, eight years later, AIDS continues to levy a heavy toll in every community, and artists continue to remember there friends and lovers on December 1.
During those first commemorations the idea of absence permeated the observations. In more recent years, the emphasis has shifted to the artists’ responses to AIDS. On December 1, painters, poets, and performers serve as witnesses. They express the sentiments of our community and communicate our suffering in a tangible form. AIDS-related art not only chronicles this terrible disease, but asks: how can we translate this awareness into direct social action? “A Day Without Art” reminds us to vow an end to AIDS .