The Cultural
Programme of the 12th World AIDS Conference
For up to date information on all cultural
and social activities in the Conference venue and in Geneva, ask the staff at the cultural
booth (No 132 in Hall 4) open daily from 12 AM to 8 PM or call 761 18 80 at the same
hours.
ENGLISH FRENCH
Art With a Heart: Beyond Reason
What has art to do with AIDS? Is AIDS only for scientists, community organisations and
medicine? Perhaps not! Prevention campaigns often need to repeat similar messages, in the
face of growing indifference. Art is one of the ways we need to explore in order to
transmit knowledge and raise the public's general consciousness about the epidemic.
Rational fact-giving is not enough. Human beings
also have instincts, emotions, feelings and wit. These are qualities that the fight
against AIDS must take into account. Art carries a holistic message to human beings : as
such, its place in the fight against the epidemic is more important than ever. A World
AIDS Conference is a unique opportunity to discover artistic contributions inspired by
AIDS.
Art and AIDS.
It is well known that art plays a unique role in the grieving process for those who died
because of AIDS, and in fulfilling the need to create community memorials. The most famous
example of this might be the Names Project's handcrafted quilt. This project began in the
United States in 1987 and is now operating in more than 30 countries. What is less known
is that art also plays an important part in raising people's awareness of AIDS. Film is
undoubtedly a popular medium in this respect for some parts of the world. Drama, dance,
music, performance or plastic arts all contribute to prevention or sensitisation work
throughout the world.
" Bridging the Gap ".
Artists over the world create works about AIDS. Why have we chosen to invite artists from
the South to Geneva? The theme of the 12th World AIDS Conference is "Bridging the
Gap". We hope that our choice will highlight one of the world's most shocking gaps:
the one between rich and poor countries. Many of the Conference's sessions will address
issues pertaining to these inequities. Artists from Africa, Asia and Latin America are
struggling to cope with violent grief while facing a huge task. Our Cultural programme
wishes to salute their talent and their courage.
Promoting dialogue and human contact.
Thanks to contributions from different partners, we are lucky to have a rich Cultural
Programme. Several important exhibits, a film festival, a quilt ceremony, a large-scale
ritual and many parties will be held in town and in Palexpo.
At the heart of the Cultural Programme will be
the different artists performing in Geneva during the Conference. Most of these artists
will also participate in the Cultural Responses to AIDS Community Symposium, Tuesday 30
June in Hall 2 at Palexpo. One of the goals of the Cultural Programme is to bridge the gap
between Conference participants and residents of Geneva. This is why Hall 2 will be open
to the public during the whole Conference.
Conference participants and the Geneva public are
warmly invited to visit Hall 2 to discover the contribution of artists to the fight
against AIDS, to meet other people in a different setting or simply to relax in the hands
of skilled masseurs.
Michael Häusermann
Cultural Co-ordinator
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QUILT
CEREMONY
Saturday 27 June between 4 PM and 7 PM on the Pont des Bergues, a bridge
over the river Rhone in the heart of Geneva. Delegates and residents of Geneva are invited
to attend a commemorative ceremony of the Names Project. Around 600 individual panels from
the European Rainbow Quilt tour and the Swiss Quilt will be unveiled in the city on this
date and are on display at Palexpo in Hall 2 during the Conference. AIDS AND THE PERFORMING ARTS
During the whole Conference week, artists from around the world will present, in different
spaces of Palexpo, live performances of imaginative uses of theatre and other performance
arts as tools to educate and sensitise different sectors of society about issues related
to HIV and AIDS. The next World AIDS Conference will take place in Durban, South Africa,
in the year 2000. In order to bridge the gap between the two continents the Cultural
Programme has given a significant place to African and South African artists.
Monday, 29
June
3 PM
Hall 2 |
Bandhu Social
Welfare Society is an HIV/AIDS/STDs Prevention Project established in 1996. Its
area of work is in and around the metropolis of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The target groups of
this project are commercial street sex workers and their clients (including street
dwellers, truck drivers and rickshaw pullers). They use the age-old Bangladeshi tradition
of story telling through music with the incorporation of dance movements. |
Monday, 29
June
5.30 PM
Hall 2 |
DramAidE
is a project based at the University of Zululand, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Through
theatre pieces shown at this Conference, and in a skills building workshop, this troupe of
actor-teachers will demonstrate the way they use drama to communicate with schoolchildren
and local communities about issues relating to HIV/AIDS. The focus of their work is on
sexuality and life skills education programmes. The DramAidE troupe will present a theatre
piece called 'Welela' meaning 'let us cross together', which is based on the Conference
theme 'Bridging the Gap'. They will also present shorter performances at the Conference
venue and in the city of Geneva. |
Tuesday, 30
June
3 PM
Hall 2 |
Marta
Julia Macchiavelli, Argentina (living in Switzerland). This artist worked with
puppets for AIDS prevention in Argentina. She is creating a puppet show called "Je
suis sorti avec" for the Conference with two human size puppets. This project was
commissioned by Geneva’s Youth Health Bureau for youth in schools of the area. The
story is about how two teenagers meet by chance in a group of friends. The group suddenly
discovers that one of its members is HIV positive… |
Tuesday, 30
June
5.30 PM
Hall 2 |
SYMPOSIUM Art and Artists Responding to AIDS.
Interactive roundtable, with short performances from the invited performers, followed by a
general discussion with the audience. See Conference workbook for details. |
Wednesday, 1
July 3 PM
Hall 2 |
African
Research and Educational Puppetry Programme, South Africa. Internationally
famous, AREPP has developed several theatre and puppet shows dealing with HIV/AIDS, Abuse
and Life-skills education for different age groups. In Geneva they will present "Check
Your Mate", an adult-focused HIV/AIDS show with a talk show format where the
host / M.C. introduces the audience to Joe and Mary, the two lead characters. Joe and Mary
then take the audience through several special scenes from their life, which led to their
present situation. After each scene the choices that were presented to Joe and Mary are
presented to the audience by means of fun interactive games, quizzes and races, and the
audience is encouraged to see what should be done to prevent similar circumstances from
affecting them. |
Wednesday, 1
July
5.30 PM
Hall 2 |
Komol
Gandhar is the cultural wing of "Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee"
(DMSC) – an organisation of about 40,000 female, male and transsexual sex workers of
West Bengal, India. It plays an effective role in the mobilisation of sex workers and
others in Calcutta and West Bengal. They use traditional Bengali dance to reach their
goals. For the Geneva Conference, the troupe will perform a dance drama based on the theme
"Making Sexwork Safe". |
Thursday, 2
July
3 PM
Hall 2 |
Iroko,
dance-theatre, is made up of two artists living in Geneva, Victor Hugo de la
Torre, from Cuba, and Annik Saunier, from Brazil. They will present
« Argonaute », a dance duo based on a Cuban poem. This show will be a tribute
to those who are fighting AIDS and those who are no longer with us. |
Thursday,
2 July
5.30 PM
Hall 2 |
Surprise Performance |
Dialogai,
Geneva's gay organisation, will also present surprise performances in different Conference
sites and in town.
Installations
- Pascale Marthine Tayou was born in Cameroon in 1967. He is self-taught and transforms
everyday objects and materials into sculpture and installations. He is also an actor and
writer. His works have been shown in many galleries and art exhibits throughout the world.
Among others, he took part in Revue Noire's "African Artists against AIDS".
During the Conference, he will create an original installation with materials found or
discovered in Geneva.
- "Bridging the Gap" Mural by Xavier Cortada, 33, a Cuban-American artist living
in Miami, USA. His proposal is to involve Conference participants in the creation of a 6
meter-long mural under his guidance. Conference participants will be given small pieces of
paper and asked to draw images or write their thoughts on the theme of the Conference «
Bridging the Gap ». These individual pieces of self-expression will be collected and
incorporated into the movable mural. The completed mural will be unveiled at the end of
the Conference. Xavier Cortada has exhibited his paintings in museums and galleries on
four continents and has worked with diverse community groups, specifically Latin
communities, to create pro-social murals.
Exhibitions
40 international artists will present images designed for the 12th World AIDS
Conference. For several years now, the Geneva group Aujourd'hui pour demain has
dedicated its work to artists in the field of HIV/AIDS. This year, they have chosen the
topic of "image" for their 1998 campaign. Works are on show in Hall 2 at
Palexpo, they will be judged by a professional jury and a jury made up of members of the
public. You will be asked to vote for the work you like best. Ballots will be available on
site. Results will be announced at the Conference Closing Ceremony. All works will be
auctioned and proceeds will be given to organisations involved in the fight against AIDS
on World AIDS Day 1998.
Official opening on Monday 29 June at 6:30 PM.
"AIDS WORLDS, Between Resignation and
Hope" An exhibit of 35 artists from around the globe commissioned by the Swiss AIDS
Documentation Centre can be seen in the Centre for Contemporary Art and at Dialogai, in
Geneva from June to September.
Conference delegates are invited for a cocktail Wednesday 1 July at 6 PM At the Centre for
Contemporary Art/Centre d'art Contemporain: 10, rue des Vieux Grenadiers (downtown).
« Traces de vie » ("Traces of Life")
: paintings by Daniel Gonthier. This Genevan painter died of AIDS in 1995. He painted the
19 works on show in a final creative act, full of questions on meaning of life and
disease. They are the deeply moving witness of a man facing his destiny with the desire to
leave a trace of life behind him.
From May to September at The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum
17, avenue de la Paix (not far from Palexpo)
"AIDS and stamps" (Stamps on AIDS from
more than 100 states) is presented by the Philatelic Museum of the United Nations in the
Community hall (Hall 4).
"From slogans to T-shirts" a unique
exhibit of 200 AIDS T-shirts from around the globe is on display in Hall 2.
Another part of this exhibit is on display in the Placette department store
6, rue de Cornavin (downtown, near train station).
A festival of AIDS-related films will be
held at the Centre for Cinematographic Arts. Philadelphia, Peter's Friends, Kids, A
Longtime Companion, Love and Human Remains, Les nuits fauves are among the films that will
be shown. Check the cinema listings in the newspapers under "CAC Voltaire" or
inquire at the cultural booth No 132 in Hall 4 for details and schedule.
CAC Voltaire
Maison des Arts du Grutli
16 rue Général Dufour (downtown).
AIDS videos and videos brought by participants
are programmed daily in the video room (Room M) in the Conference Centre at Palexpo
between 1 PM and 6 PM. Please consult the daily programme at the cultural booth No 132 in
Hall 4.
A public interfaith ceremony will take place on
Wednesday 1 July at 8 PM in Geneva's Saint Pierre Cathedral. Women and men of different
religious faiths and traditions will guide participants through a meditation on HIV/AIDS.
It will be a time for reflection but also a time to listen to the different voices of hope
and despair of those living with HIV/AIDS. It will also be a time for remembrance.
Closing Ritual
Thursday 2 July from 9 PM at the Perle du Lac Park. Theme: "Bridging the Gap".
Alpenhorns by the Schumacher brothers, and African percussions by the Coulibaly brothers.
Schoolchildren in Geneva have crafted specially designed floaters to hold candles that
will be set afloat as a symbol of solidarity with those who live, suffer and struggle.
RELAX
Stress, jetlag, meeting overdose are not everyone's cup of tea. Here are some suggestions
to fight back.
Positive motion, a relaxation meditation
proposed by Jamie McHugh, USA. Jamie McHugh has been living with HIV for the last 14
years. He is a registered Somatic Movement therapist and is offering movement therapy
workshops in USA and in Europe. During the Conference, Jamie McHugh is proposing a 20
minutes movement relaxation with drum accompaniment to all Conference participants from
Monday to Thursday in Hall 2 at 12.40 PM. Join us to get rid of the day's tensions to the
sounds of the drum.
Massage. Take a few minutes to slow down, just
lie down and relax, or ask one of the Conference masseurs to give you a calming massage of
the head and the hands. Under the guidance of professional masseurs, a group of volunteers
has been trained to give Conference participants simple and calming massages. They are
expecting your visit in Hall 2, on the « massage carpet », Monday to Thursday from 1 PM
to 7 PM.
A break on the Geneva lakeshore in 12 minutes
for free. Bus No 18 brings you in 12 minutes to the Geneva Botanical Gardens. Just cross
the main road, walk along the side of the World Trade Organisation building and you are in
La Perle du Lac, Geneva's most beautiful lakeside park of Geneva. From there you can enjoy
a stunning view of Geneva and the Alps. Departure: every 30 minutes in front of the Arena
or Hall 7, direction Jardin botanique. Return: every 30 minutes from Jardin botanique,
direction Tours de Carouge. Free with Conference badge. |
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