SAVE THE LOVE!
International Posters Against AIDS
Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany, is hosting the exhibition Save the Love! International Posters against AIDS from August 21 through November 29. This fantastic show exhibits 180 posters that promote AIDS awareness. Some of these posters were from the 1980s when the first HIV cases surfaced.
When it comes to the spread of awareness and information about HIV, posters have always played a key role -no matter the country or culture. Campaigns were initiated during the 1980s by groups such as ACT UP or Gran Fury to educate and promote understanding amid the AIDS crisis, and the practice has never stopped. The beginning of this crisis caused extreme panic and mixed emotions from the general public and challenged the LGBTQ community. Countless artists and activists faced the situation using art to fight the disease, spread awareness, and make a difference. As Elizabeth Taylor stated: “art lives on forever,” and the works and posters continue to impact us four decades later.
Although to this day, HIV continues to affect or kill hundreds of thousands of people annually (1.7 million people contracted the condition in 2018), posters have helped in slowing down the spread by informing and educating the population, as well as addressing the social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. But despite being a global issue, it is not one that is dealt with in the same way in different countries and cultures. Save the Love! Exhibit gathers posters (selected from the museum’s collection of over 2,000, as well as from private and public collections) plus diverse cultures and religions. Seeing them displayed in one space, a viewer can get an idea of how differently HIV/AIDS is approached depending on where you live. It’s a clear contrast in explicitness, style, and information, and it is a way of seeing who the voices and target audiences are in each place and time. As the years go by, the subjects depicted also become more diverse, and so do the messages. Parties attacked in these posters include politicians, the pharmaceutical industry, and the church. Some images depict the tragic consequences of contracting HIV (such as the image of a dying David Kirby taken by Therese Frare,) while others state facts or straight-up call out homophobia. Also displayed are posters from Germany’s Mach’s mit! Campaign. Statistical charts are included to clarify the current effect of the disease throughout the world.
As mentioned in the press release, this exhibition also runs parallel to the gallery’s Keith Haring retrospective. This artist famously came out as HIV positive and eventually contracted and died of AIDS at a young age. It also features work by him, such as the green Keith Haring HIV poster shown here. It is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with how the global fight against AIDS has progressed through the years. The show is not available to be viewed online but will remain open at Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany, until November 29, 2020.
