| AIDS Garden Chicago | |
|---|---|
 AIDS Garden Chicago | |
 | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°56′20″N87°38′05″W / 41.9388°N 87.6348°W |
| Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
| Elevation | 587 feet (179 m) |
AIDS Garden Chicago is a public 2.5 acre garden along Lake Michigan in Chicago's Lincoln Park. It serves to memorialize the HIV epidemic in Chicago and honor those who live with the disease today, and is managed alongside the Chicago Park District.
From the late 1960s to the 1990s, the Belmont Rocks served as an informal gathering space for the LGBT community in Chicago. During the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s, the Rocks also served as a memorial space for LGBT Chicagoans who died from the disease. The Rocks were removed in 2003 and replaced with a concrete retaining wall as part of a shoreline revetment project. [1] After the site was demolished, plans were made to transform the space into a garden; however, the 2008 financial crisis led to the cancellation of the initial project. [2] [3]
Plans for AIDS Garden Chicago were relaunched in 2018, and the park's anchor piece, a 30-foot tall Keith Haring sculpture titled 'Self-Portrait', was installed in late 2019. [4] [5] Although it was originally set to be complete in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted state funding away from the project, and it was delayed for a year. [3] In June 2021, a groundbreaking ceremony was officially held at the site of the Belmont rocks. [6] The park officially opened on June 2, 2022, and includes spaces for art installations, an educational walk which includes QR codes with information on how HIV has impacted the LGBT community in Chicago, a grove of gingko trees, and a perennial garden. [7] [5]
Keith Allen Haring was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his work includes sexual allusions that turned into social activism by using the images to advocate for safe sex and AIDS awareness. In addition to solo gallery exhibitions, he participated in renowned national and international group shows such as documenta in Kassel, the Whitney Biennial in New York, the São Paulo Biennial, and the Venice Biennale. The Whitney Museum held a retrospective of his art in 1997.
Lakeview is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located on the city's North Side and is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east. The Uptown community area is to Lakeview's north, Lincoln Square to its northwest, North Center to its west, and Lincoln Park to its south. The 2020 population of Lakeview was 103,050 residents, making it the second-largest Chicago community area by population.
Center on Halsted is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community center in Chicago, Illinois.
Sackville Gardens is a public space in Manchester, England. It is bounded by Manchester College's Shena Simon Campus on one side and Whitworth Street, Sackville Street, the Rochdale Canal and Canal Street on the others.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, commonly called The Center, is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) population of New York City and nearby communities.
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville is an American social worker, activist, and trans woman best known for founding transgender advocacy group transGENESIS. After living in Chicago for most of her life, Baskerville moved to Thailand in the early 2000s, where she currently resides.
Howard Brown Health is a nonprofit LGBTQ healthcare and social services provider that was founded in 1974. It is based in Chicago and was named after Howard Junior Brown.
AIDS Foundation of Chicago is a locally based, non-profit organization that advocates for HIV/AIDS prevention as well as serves as a general resource for the HIV/AIDS community. Founded in 1985, some of their better-known accomplishments include hosting fundraisers to support the distribution of HIV/AIDS related medications in the city, funding the Open Door Health Center, and launching their “Getting to Zero” plan. Their cause seeks to increase the amount of resources available to the HIV/AIDS community as resources are too few and far between. Similar to other city organizations focused on sexual health such as Howard Brown Health, AFC makes getting access to treatment easier for all patients, decreases the stigma around treatment, and promotes the awareness and acceptance of those who live with HIV and/or AIDS.
The LGBTQ community in Chicago is one of the United States' most prominent, especially within the Midwest, alongside those of San Francisco and New York City, and holds a significant role in the progression of gay rights in the country. With a population of around 3 million, Chicago is the third biggest city in the US, and around 150,000 of those people identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, questioning, or other.
The AIDS pandemic began in the early 1980s and brought with it a surge of emotions from the public: they were afraid, angry, fearful and defiant. The arrival of AIDS also brought with it a condemnation of the LGBT community. These emotions, along with the view on the LGBT community, paved the way for a new generation of artists. Artists involved in AIDS activist organizations had the ideology that while art could never save lives as science could, it may be able to deliver a message. Art of the AIDS crisis typically sought to make a sociopolitical statement, stress the medical impact of the disease, or express feelings of longing and loss. The ideologies were present in conceptions of art in the 1980s and are still pertinent to reception of art today as well. Elizabeth Taylor, for example, spoke at a benefit for AIDS involving artwork, emphasizing its importance to activism in that "art lives on forever". This comment articulates the ability of artwork from this time to teach and impact contemporary audiences, post-crisis. This page examines the efforts of artists, art collectives, and art movements to make sense of such an urgent pandemic in American society.
The Pride Center at Equality Park is an LGBTQ+ community center in Wilton Manors, Florida, that serves Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Fort Lauderdale. The center provides information, news, and events that affect South Florida's LGBTQ community. Established in 1993, the center is headquartered within a 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) building with meeting and office space for individuals, programs, services, and organizations. The goal of the center is to empower the LGBT communities in South Florida.
Pillar of Fire is an illuminated glass sculpture in Washington, D.C. honoring Whitman-Walker Health and the healthcare workers who assisted people living with HIV/AIDS during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Designed by artist William Cochran, the sculpture is composed of 370 layers of float glass that changes colors throughout the day. It was installed in 2013 in front of the old Whitman-Walker Clinic site at 14th and S Streets NW. The design was inspired by the ancient tale of a pillar of fire that led Israelites in their crossing of the Red Sea and through the desert after they fled Egypt.
In LGBT culture, red dress parties are events in which people wear red dresses, regardless of gender. The Red Dress Party fundraising event began in Portland, Oregon in 2001, with only 75 people in attendance.
Daniel Sotomayor was the first openly gay political cartoonist in the United States for various newspapers throughout the country, such as Chicago's Windy City Times, and the cofounder of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power organization’s branch in Chicago (ACT-UP/Chicago).
Harley McMillen was a health care administrator who was executive director of Howard Brown Health in Chicago. He was there in the early stages of the AIDS crisis. He was active in organizing the AIDS Action Project and the AIDS Strategic Plan for the City of Chicago.
Lori Cannon is a Chicago-based American AIDS activist. She was a volunteer at Chicago House and Social Service Agency, the non-profit organization providing housing and hospice during the AIDS crisis. She then worked with the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, helping to establish the Chicago chapter. She was involved with the 1988, 1990, and 1994 installations of the quilt in Chicago, coordinating media and public relations activities.
Open Hand Chicago was originally founded in 1988. It was co-founded by Chicago AIDS activists including Lori Cannon, James Cappleman, Greg Harris, and Tom Tunney. Using San Francisco's Project Open Hand as a model, Open Hand Chicago delivered 41,476 meals in its first year.
Lois L. Bates (1970-2011) was an activist in Chicago's transgender community. She was known specifically for her HIV prevention work and her advocacy for trans youth. She was also involved with the Chicago Area Ryan White Services Planning Council, Chicago Windy City Black Pride, the Chicago Transgender Coalition, Lakeview Action, the Minority Outreach Intervention Project. Bates worked for the Howard Brown Health Center. She died at the age of 41.
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