The Adler Museum

Clippings from the Adler Archive.

1983

Clippings from the Adler Archive.

1984

Clippings from the Adler Archive.

1985

1994 to 2006.

Massive rise in scientific and popular publications around HIV/ AIDS

It was during this time that art in response to HIV/AIDS entered into museum collections and the public arena.

2000-2008.

Growing number of exhibitions which have focused on Art made around HIV/AIDS. The largest body of these was shown in Durban during the 13th International AIDS Conference.

Mary Crewe

1992

The Leech

Pierre Brouard

1992

2004

HIV/AIDS: Nine lives 2004

An exhibition donated to the Gay and Lesbian Archives (GALA) of the University, initially displayed at the Constitutional Court and now on loan to the Museum. From October 2004

2004

2006

Status II 2006

The installation by Churchill Madikida, Status II, is the key artwork which was displayed at Constitution Hill from December 2011. Madikida is a Wits Fine Art graduate and Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year award winner for 2006, who is currently completing a Masters degree in Fine Art at Wits. The Madikida installation was shown from 1 December 2011 when a major function commemorating International AIDS Day was held. Justice Edwin Cameron, one of the speakers on the day, has long admired the installation, having opened the exhibition at the Medical School in 2006 when the installation was commissioned by the Board of Control of the Adler Museum of Medicine.

2006

2007

Lesotho Craft Works 2007

This venture is in support of women in Lesotho, many of whom are HIV- positive, and enables them to take control of their lives and provide for themselves and their families in an area plagued by high unemployment, poverty and poor health.

Arranged in collaboration with Mr Charles Goldstein.

29 March to 31 May 2007

2007

2008

2008: Khangas: homage to life

The project was a joint initiative between the Tshwane University of Technology’s (TUT) Department of Textile Design and Technology and the United States Embassy, and showcased the talent of young TUT design students presented with the challenge of re-inventing the traditional Khanga to address the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic. The students created images and designs to encourage solidarity with those living with HIV/AIDS, celebrate the role of women as life givers, deliver AIDS awareness messages, and promote healthy, life-affirming choices. The design students have brought innovative and groundbreaking visual approaches to a traditional medium in an effort to promote behavioral change and reduce stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS.

2008

2011

2011: ‘HIV prevention and sex in southern Africa’ AJ ORENSTEIN MEMORIAL LECTURE 2011 .

The annual AJ Orenstein Memorial Lecture took place on 23 August 2011 in the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital Auditorium. The lecture was delivered by Professor Francois Venter. The title of the lecture was ‘HIV prevention and sex in southern Africa: Why can’t we get it right?’ The lecture received excellent publicity and Professor Venter filled the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital Auditorium to capacity.

2011: National Paper Prayers Awareness Campaign

An exhibition of the Paper Prayers Campaign, an HIV awareness initiative from the Artist Proof Studio, opened in the mezzanine level of the Museum on the 23 August 2011 to coincide with the AJ Orenstein lecture. The images and handwritten text capture people’s fears, hopes and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS over a period of 15 years. The concept of Paper Prayers originates from an ancient Japanese custom of offering painted strips of paper as prayers for healing the sick. 23 August -31. October 2011

2011

2012

2012: CONFRONTING HIV/AIDS

A newly researched and installed permanent exhibition on the history of HIV/AIDS. A publication accompanies the exhibition. The text for the exhibition and publication were researched by Professor Maria Papathanasopoulos, Co-Director: HIV Pathogenesis Research Laboratory and Genotyping Laboratory, Department of Molecular Medicine and Haematology, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Wits; Professor Simonne Horwitz, Department of History, University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and Visiting Lecturer, Department of History, School of Humanites, Wits; and the Museum’s Curator, Rochelle Keene. The exhibition forms part of the Faculty’s teaching syllabus. An opening event will took place in 2013.

2012

2013

2013: The A.R.T. Show

A Project of Make Art/Stop AIDS This exhibition, curated by David Gere PhD, Director, UCLA Art & Global Health Center, and Carol Brown, Art and Museum consultant, explores questions about antiretroviral treatment. It is a show about ART and A.R.T. The opening event took place on 2 August 2013 in conjunction with a book launch. December 2012 - December 2013.

2013

2016

2016: Through Positive Eyes exhibition - Photographs dealing with people living with HIV/AIDS

The Adler Museum of Medicine hosting the globally acclaimed HIV/AIDS exhibition, Through Positive Eyes. The Exhibition features over 100 photographs, sculptural works, and live storytelling documenting the realities of individuals living with HIV across the world. The exhibition houses a small theater, in which a sophisticated sound-and-light show, designed by New York theatrical designer Stan Pressner, is enacted. Titled “Banishing Stigma,” this final 15-minute “experience” features the resonant stories of HIV-positive people, told by live storytellers from the communities where the exhibition is being staged.

2016

Looking forward, looking backward...

2017

2017: FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES WORLD AIDS DAY COMMEMORATION

To commemorate World AIDS Day, the Faculty of Health Sciences runs a programme of events to highlight faculty research and teaching in the HIV/AIDS area while remembering those who have lost their lives to the disease and celebrate those who live with HIV/AIDS.

On World AIDS Day, the Through Positive Eyes exhibition will be infused with showcase of research from the Faculty of Health Sciences Research entities. The key objective is to allow medical experts and students from the Faculty, HIV/ AIDS activists, NGOs and the community to engage with the art and “artivits” component as well as the wealth of research under the Faculties umbrella.

2017

Shifting

Attitudes and

Understanding

Looking back at the Adler Archive, Publications and Exhibitions we are able to track the shifting attitudes and understandings of HIV/AIDS. We are able to see how non-linear our understanding of the Virus was and how our responses constantly morphed.

This is further illustrated in the changing wordcloud to the right as it tracks the language used in journal articles written about HIV/AIDS from the 1980s.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to:

Rebecca Potterton & Simone Ferreira

Christine van Zyl

Catherine Burns

David Sepele Sekgwele

Matthew McClure

Mfundo Hlangani

Krytania Pather

To learn more about the Adler Museum of Medicine, visit

www.wits.ac.za/health/adlermuseum

The Adler Museum is expanding its knowledge and contents beyond the walls of the museum. Find out more at

www.wits.ac.za/witswethu