SAN DIEGO, Calif. – With assistance from POZabilities, local Visual AIDS Artists+ members Patrick N Brown and Patric Stillman are heading up a West Coast edition of the long running Visual AIDS (NYC) benefit Postcards from The Edge to support the San Diego premiere of Day With(out) Art at the Digital Gym at Media Arts Center San Diego on December 2nd.
ART POSTCARDS
Any and all artists over 18 years old are encouraged to create and donate 4″ x 6″ original works on paper for exhibition and benefit sale. The two artists will be holding create your own postcards workshops on Saturday, November 4 at The Studio Door (3750 30th Street, North Park) and Sunday, November 5 at Escondido Arts Partnership (262 E Grande Avenue, Escondido). Postcards can be created outside of the workshops and be dropped off at either location for inclusion. The limit is two postcards per artist.
“Postcards is a very personal thing for me. When diagnosed in 2011, I was very sick and it was assumed, I was in the final stages of AIDS. After weeks in the hospital, a nurse helped me apply for a artist materials grant from Visual AIDS. I had forgotten about applying and one day the grant showed up. It marked the turning point of my battle; giving me renewed purpose and direction when I most needed it,” said Patrick N Brown, Gallery Manager of Escondido Arts Partnership. “When I make a postcard, I think about that time and I hope that my fundraising helps give someone else the same opportunity that changed my life.”
EXHIBITION
Though this is the first event of its kind in San Diego, Postcards From the Edge has been known within the art world since 1998 as the most exciting and affordable way to add to a collection, Postcards From the Edge offers a unique opportunity for buyers to acquire original, postcard-sized artwork. Offered on a first-come, first-served basis, each piece is exhibited anonymously, and the identity of the artist is revealed only after the work is purchased. With the playing field leveled, all participants can take home a piece by a community leader, a famous artist or one who’s just making their debut in the art world. Nonetheless, collectors walk away with something beautiful, a piece of art they love!
A portion of the postcards will be anonymously exhibited and on sale locally at Escondido Arts Partnership (starting Nov 11), Media Arts Center San Diego (starting Nov 20) and The Studio Door (Starting Nov 25) through out 2017; while others will be sent directly to Visual AIDS in New York for their annual benefit in January 2018.
Locally, cards will be sold for $75. One third of the proceeds will go support the expenses of San Diego’s screening Day With(out) Art, one third will be distributed to local HIV+ artists selected by Escondido Arts Partnership and The Studio Door and one third will be sent in support of VISUAL AIDS. The Studio Door will announce the process for HIV+ artist grant(s) on December 2.
“Why am I involved in these fundraising efforts? Its simple, because AIDS is not over,” said Patric Stillman, Owner of The Studio Door. “Even though its not making headlines, 36 million men, women and children are living and struggling with HIV today. If we are to ever get on top of this worldwide epidemic, we have to remain vigilant. As our political leaders seek to divide us, I think its more important then ever that we show each other compassion and understanding. Its simply not a time to be complacent.”
DAY WITH(OUT) ART SCREENING
Newly commissioned videos by artists Mykki Blanco, Cheryl Dunye & Ellen Spiro, Reina Gossett, Thomas Allen Harris, Kia Labeija, Tiona McClodden and Brontez Purnell will premiere at the Whitney Museum of American Art on World AIDS Day with a special one day series of screenings in San Diego on December 2nd at the Digital Cinema Theater in North Park. The free public screenings will be shown at 6:30 PM and 7:50 PM. Limited seating; first come, first seated.
The screening, ALTERNATE ENDINGS, RADICAL BEGINNINGS is the 28th iteration of Visual AIDS’ longstanding Day With(out) Art project. Curated by Erin Christovale and Vivian Crockett for Visual AIDS, this year the video program prioritizes Black narratives within the ongoing AIDS epidemic, commissioning seven new and innovative short videos.
In spite of the impact of HIV/AIDS within Black communities, these stories and experiences are constantly excluded from larger artistic and historical narratives. In 2016 African Americans represented 44% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States. Given this context, it is increasingly urgent to feature a myriad of stories that consider and represent the lives of those housed within this statistic. ALTERNATE ENDINGS, RADICAL BEGINNINGS seeks to highlight the voices of those that are marginalized within broader Black communities nationwide, including queer and trans folks.
The commissioned projects include intimate meditations of young HIV positive protagonists; a consideration of community-based HIV/AIDS activism in the South; explorations of the legacies and contemporary resonances within AIDS archives; a poetic journey through New York exploring historical traces of queer and trans life, and more. Together, the videos provide a platform centering voices deeply impacted by the ongoing epidemic.
San Diego presentation sponsors include POZabiliites, Media Arts Center and The Studio Door with community partners The Archive Project, Escondido Arts Partnership, FilmOut San Diego and San Diego Human Dignity Foundation.
For more details on the workshops or the screenings, please contact Patric Stillman at The Studio Door by email patric@thestudiodoor.com; phone 619-255-4920 or visit www.thestudiodoor.com.
Thank you for sharing the news. Its great to be collaborating across the spectrum of services organizations and artists for such an important benefit.