PRESS RELEASE: World AIDS Day 2024
New York City AIDS Memorial Announces 37th Annual World AIDS Day Observances on Sunday, December 1 & Monday, December 2
Free & Public Events Include a Community Gathering, Reading of Names, a Queer Soup Night Fundraiser, and a Candlelight Vigil
New York, NY – November 20, 2024 – Each year, on December 1, the world gathers to remember those lost to and impacted by HIV/AIDS and champion the ongoing fight against the epidemic. To commemorate World AIDS Day, the New York City AIDS Memorial will host its annual, free, and public observance featuring two days of programming in collaboration with organizations dedicated to bringing communities together in the fight to end HIV/AIDS.
“It is a privilege to be the center for New Yorkers to gather to remember, reflect, and renew on World AIDS Day. We are proud to join our incredible partners to hold space on this important day and are thankful to all those who will participate. As a tribute to those we have lost and those who have long fought to end the epidemic, the New York City AIDS Memorial stands as a monument to community spirit and caretaking, something we hope will be abundant again this year,” notes Dave Harper, Executive Director, New York City AIDS Memorial.
Our World AIDS Day observances begin on Sunday, December 1st at 6 PM, with the 33rd Annual Out of the Darkness candlelight vigil and march. Organized by activists Brent Nicholson Earle, Jeff Bosacki, Robert Gonzalez, and Barbara Martinez, Out of the Darkness was founded by the American Run to End AIDS (AREA) with co-sponsors Charner Transformative Communication, the International AIDS Prevention Initiative (IAPI), the Keith Haring Foundation, the NYC AIDS Memorial, and St. John’s Lutheran Church. At the close of the vigil, at approximately 6:30 PM, attendees are invited to continue to St. John’s Lutheran Church at 81 Christopher Street for a further event with additional speakers and performers. “The recent national election has shown the great divisions in our country. This year’s theme of 'Building Community' for our Out of the Darkness events, is so urgent and relevant and necessary. Please join us on December 1st as we light our candles in solidarity, in remembrance, in activism and in hope," shared Brent Nicholson Earle, Founder and President, American Run for the End of AIDS, Inc. (AREA).
On Monday, December 2nd, beginning at 10 AM, we will hold our third annual Reading of Names of New Yorkers Lost to AIDS, in partnership with Housing Works, a New York City-based non-profit fighting the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. We are honored to renew this important and healing tradition at the Memorial again this year.
"Housing Works and the HIV community have been relentless in the fight to end the AIDS epidemic in New York City and across the state, and each year, we get closer to making that vision a reality. Although we see a hopeful decline in new infections, now more than ever, we must fight for more progress. Our work is far from over. On World AIDS Day, we honor the countless friends and loved ones we’ve lost and reaffirm our commitment to end this epidemic once and for all, both locally and globally," says Charles King, Housing Works CEO. All in attendance are invited and welcome to participate in the reading. Additionally, a press conference will be held on-site at 11 AM featuring remarks by several local elected officials.
Also starting at 11 AM and running through 1 PM on December 2nd, the New York City AIDS Memorial will once again partner with Queer Soup Night (QSN), a volunteer-run organization founded to strengthen local queer communities across the country, for a lunchtime service of hot soup for event attendees. Featuring creations by leading LGBTQ+ New York-based chefs Liz Alpern (Queer Soup Night/The Gefilteria), Phoebe Tran (Bé Bếp), Surbhi Sahni (TAGMO), and Eric See (Ursula), QSN will help us create community through sharing food and space.
A full schedule of programs, partners, and events can be found at www.nycaidsmemorial.org/wad2024
About the New York City AIDS Memorial
Founded as a grass-roots advocacy effort in early 2011, the New York City AIDS Memorial organization is now a 501(c)(3) corporation with the mission to honor the more than 100,000 New Yorkers who have died of AIDS and to acknowledge the contributions of caregivers and activists who mobilized to provide care for the ill, fight discrimination, lobby for research, alter the drug approval process, ultimately changing the trajectory of the disease.
Today the organization maintains the New York City AIDS Memorial as a highly visible and architecturally significant landmark and a community space for reflection and remembrance. It bears witness to the lessons of the epidemic through engagement and free, public community-centered educational, arts, and cultural programming at the Memorial site and virtually extends the reach of the Memorial through digital content and interactivity. Previous programs have included Jenny Holzer’s #LightTheFight in 2018 and new commissions by Avram Finkelstein and Jim Hodges in 2023 and 2024.
About World AIDS Day
Inaugurated in 1988 as the first-ever Global Health Day, World AIDS Day is observed each year on December 1. It is a day of solidarity for people around the world who are affected by HIV. This is a day for voices to unite by sharing experiences, remembering those lost, and standing together in the fight against HIV. While great strides have been made over the four decades since the first known reported cases of AIDS, this disease remains a public health challenge. World AIDS Day is an opportunity for every community and each individual to honor the more than 32 million people who have died worldwide from AIDS-related illness and a reminder that AIDS is not over.
Land Acknowledgment
The land on which the New York City AIDS Memorial sits is the traditional homeland of the Lenape, Merrick, Canarsie, Rockaway, Matinecock, and Haudenosaunee Peoples. We acknowledge the Peoples of these Nations and their resilience throughout the HIV/AIDS epidemic and movement.
Media Contact
For additional information or images, or to request an interview please contact:
Van Lundsgaard, THIRD EYE
van@hellothirdeye.com
(212) 355-9009 x 314
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