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.

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. 

The New York Daily News highlights the New York City AIDS Memorial’s World AIDS Day Programs: “For 35 years, World AIDS Day has sought to increase awareness about the ongoing global health crisis, which has claimed the lives of more than 40 million people over the past four decades. Here are a few ways to commemorate the date in New York City.”

Advocates are planning multiple events to commemorate the 35th annual World AIDS Day in New York City, which is observed on Dec. 1. The NYC AIDS Memorial in the West Village will read the names of New Yorkers lost to AIDS. From 4 to 6 p.m., chefs from Queer Soup Night will provide free food for attendees. At 6 p.m., the Memorial will hold the 32nd annual Out of the Darkness World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil. This year’s theme for the vigil is “Leading With Kindness.”

Read Joshua Barone’s preview of Arthur Russell: City Park at the New York City AIDS Memorial which has been reconstructed and will be performed for the first time in five decades, presented by the memorial outdoors for free and featuring an ensemble that includes Russell’s close collaborators. The musician Nick Hallett, who is responsible for the reconstruction, said that the piece was “about New York City,” and more important, “tells the story of Arthur’s New York City.”

Free, public programs include events, multimedia commissions, and presentations by the Recollectors, Avram Finkelstein, Jim Hubbard, Arthur Russell, and more, throughout September and October 2023.

St. Vincent’s Triangle, a small park in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood, is named for the hospital that once stood nearby. A site of sorrow and loss for the LGBTQ+ community, St. Vincent’s hospital was known as ground zero of the city’s AIDS epidemic, opening the first ward for AIDS care on the East Coast in 1984. The triangle is a fitting site for the New York City AIDS Memorial—which opened in 2016—and for a new sculpture unveiled earlier this month: Called Craig’s closet, the artwork will remain at the site until May 2024.

Maya Pontone writes: “A granite and painted bronze replica of a bedroom closet frozen in time, “Craig’s closet” is an intimate interior space brought outdoors that explores the intangible experiences and memories contained in material objects left behind: shirts and jackets on hangers; filled drawers and packed shelves; stacks of untouched books and folders; bags and boxes holding unknown treasures.”

Jameson Montgomery writes: “This year, a sculptural installation by the artist Jim Hodges has been added to the triangle’s small lawn. Titled “Craig’s Closet,” the work honors the musician Craig Ducote, with whom Hodges lived at the time of his death in 2016.”

This photo essay depicting both the installation of ‘Craig’s closet’ as well as the celebratory concert and event on June 9 featured in WestView News’ June 2023 edition.

On June 14, the New York City AIDS Memorial hosted an annual Pride Silent Disco featuring performances by the Legends of Drag.

An open closet now stands in New York’s AIDS Memorial Park. In it are hangers and hoodies, stacked boxes and folded weekend bags. The structure looks, in other words, like a generic storage space. It is and it isn’t.

Town & Country Deputy Features Editor Adam Rathe writes about the New York City AIDS Memorial as contributors select the best brands to shop for Pride Month and calls out our program with Pamela Sneed on June 29.

The New York City Aids Memorial in has unveiled a new, site-specific sculpture by Jim Hodges as part of its public art initiative and the city’s Art in the Parks programme. Opened in 2016 to honour the more than 100,000 New Yorkers who have died of Aids, the memorial has hosted nearly 20 installations and events

In honor of NYC Pride Month, the New York City AIDS Memorial is partnering with the creative team behind the new portrait book Legends of Drag to present a live revue at the Memorial on Wednesday, June 14.

Get your Pride on at the NYC AIDS Memorial—that origami trellis by the former St. Vincent’s in the West Village—with drag stars Caracol de Cuba, Dina Jacobs, Egyptt LaBeija, Kelly Ray, Ruby Rims, and Linda Simpson followed by a silent disco (which won’t disturb the condo owners who replaced the hospital) with sets by Oscar Nñ, DJ CHES, br0nz3_g0dd3ss, and DJ Nikki Jax.

Recognized for his beautiful transpositions of the intimate world into art, Jim Hodges is set to debut his new sculpture, Craig’s closet, this week. The granite and bronze sculpture, which is a rendering of a literal closet, asks viewers to think about items they keep sacred. The piece brings the personal into the public, confronting viewers with the boundaries between both. The sculpture will be on display for one year, continuing the New York City AIDS Memorial’s public art program.

As part of NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program, a new exhibit by Jim Hodges will come to life at New York City’s AIDS Memorial Park. Many people have closets, these compartments in homes, offices, or bedrooms where we store all the big and small things that make up our lives. Craig’s Closet consists of a replication of an ordinary bedroom closet made of painted bronze and granite. The artwork aims to commemorate the lives of millions of people lost in the AIDS epidemic by bringing a sense of personal connection. 

Read more about the New York City AIDS Memorial’s spring season featuring free, public programs including commissions and presentations of sculpture, dance, poetry, live music, and performances by Ishmael Houston-Jones, Miguel Gutierrez, Nick Hallett, Peter Cramer, Jack Waters, NYOBS, Jim Hodges, Pamela Sneed, Mazz Swift, Natalie Greffel, and the Legends of Drag.

New Yorkers recognized World AIDS Day 2022 last Thursday, Dec. 1. For four straight hours, names of those who died from the epidemic were read in Greenwich Village for the first in-person observation at the NYC AIDS Memorial since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond a day of remembrance, Thursday was also a day of action.