News & Press


Dave Harper Dave Harper

NEW YORK TIMES: A Dying Artist Left His Legacy to MoMA. Today He’s Almost Forgotten

The Los Angeles-based artist Oscar Tuazon, together with the gallery Kasmin and the New York City AIDS Memorial, is breathing new life into one of Burton’s final public artworks: an array of lights, flag poles, weathervanes and ottomans on the fishing piers in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn…Tuazon plans to transform them into a new work, “Eternal Flame for Scott Burton,” which is expected to be installed at the NYC AIDS Memorial in fall 2025.

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

HYPERALLERGIC: NYC AIDS Memorial Celebrates David Wojnarowicz’s 70th Birthday

Though he died at the age of 37 due to AIDS complications, David Wojnarowicz left a powerful legacy of avant-garde artmaking, passionate LGBTQ+ and disability activism, and withstanding friendships — all of which will be commemorated at the New York City AIDS Memorial Park. To celebrate what would have been the trailblazing artist’s 70th birthday, the NYC AIDS Memorial has partnered with the David Wojnarowicz Foundation, Visual AIDS, and PPOW Gallery for an interdisciplinary remembrance event on Saturday night, September 14.

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

FAMILY STYLE: In David Wojnarowicz’s Words

“I discovered that making an object, whether it was a drawing or a story, meant making something that spoke even if I was silent,” David Wojnarowicz wrote in his renowned 1991 memoir Close to the Knives. Throughout his life, the artist, writer, and activist used art to express himself amidst societal oppression. Today, Wojnarowicz’s voice remains––powerful and resonant––long after his death.

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

THE BODY: This Community Based Project Is Using $100K to Excavate Miami’s HIV History

In this article on the Miami AIDS Memorials Project (MAMP), author Theodore Kerr writes about AIDS Memorial’s strategies for community enagement. He says, “Leaning into community engagement is foundational to the history of AIDS memorials...More recently, organizations like the New York City AIDS Memorial have offered a robust calendar of programming to ensure people are visiting the memorial, both to remember loved ones who have passed away and to honor the fact that AIDS is not over.”

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

NEW YORK TIMES: Why Can’t New York Make a Proper Monument to Gay History?

Holland Cotter writes: “Closer to home there was…a stirring lament of a public sculpture, called “Craig’s Closet” by the American artist Jim Hodges, installed in the park adjacent to the New York City AIDS Memorial. In part thanks to its placement near the memorial, the piece kept personal and political content in subtle sync, in an image that spoke of lives we had and have, lives we lost and are still losing, and lives we need to fight not to forget.”

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

NY1: Day of Remembrance

The New York City AIDS Memorial’s June 15 program, A Remembrance, as well as our newly inaugurated bench dedication program, were featured on NY1, with commentary by New York City AIDS Memorial Board Member Eric Sawyer and activist Michelle Lopez.

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

PIX11: Legends of Drag showcases trailblazing elders in NYC’s drag community

The second annual Legends of Drag revue occurred at the Whitney Museum of American Art. It is an event to honor trailblazing drag queen elders who have been leaders in their communities. The queen elders were kicking out their heels and collecting dollars for their performances at the event organized by the New York City AIDS Memorial.

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

NEW YORK TIMES: Pride Events in New York: Here’s How to Celebrate

On June 5, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the New York City AIDS Memorial partner on “Legends of Drag,” a revue celebrating drag queens featured in the book “Legends of Drag: Queens of a Certain Age.” Hosted at the Whitney, the event includes performances by Egyptt LaBeija and other drag veterans.

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

ARTFORUM: Top Ten

Chris Bogia is a Queens, New York–based artist as well as the cofounder and former executive director of Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR). In February’s Artforum, he shares his Top Ten, which includes Jim Hodges’ Craig’s closet at the New York City AIDS Memorial, which, he writes, “interrupts the artist’s kaleidoscopic parade with a dark intermission,” as “a meaningful marker.”

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

SPECTRUM NY1: Community members unite on World AIDS Day

Friday’s downpour couldn’t stop community members from coming down to the AIDS Memorial in Greenwich Village to remember those who’ve died from the disease. For eight hours, community members recited the names of those lives lost.

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Dave Harper Dave Harper

CBS2 NEW YORK: World AIDS Day marked with events raising awareness and encouraging treatment across New York City

Friday marked the 35th annual World AIDS Day, when every Dec. 1 people gather to remember those who have died of and been impacted by HIV/AIDS.  Many events were held this year to raise awareness and fight the stigma.  Over the course of eight hours at the New York City AIDS Memorial in the West Village, people simultaneously read the names of New Yorkers who died of the disease. 

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