Ithaca College

The Radiant Presence Digital Slideshow will be shown as a looping presentation througout the day on December 1, from 10 am - 4 pm, in the LGBT Resource Room. For this year’s Day With(out) Art 2015, Visual AIDS collaborated with 9 influential artists, activists and curators—Bill Arning, Ian Alteveer, Chris Vargas, Rae Lewis-Thornton, Mark S. King, Allen Frame, Maria Mejia, Jack Mackenroth, and Kimberly Drew—to present RADIANT PRESENCE. RADIANT PRESENCE is a digital slideshow with images from the Visual AIDS' Artist+ Registry, the largest database of works by artists with HIV/AIDS. 

 For the 26th annual Day With(out) Art, Visual AIDS has partnered with art institutions, AIDS-service organizations, and universities for screenings, looping office and gallery projections, and public programs to highlight RADIANT PRESENCE internationally. Visual AIDS has also coordinate large-scale projections of RADIANT PRESENCE in highly visible locations in New York City, San Francisco and Miami. The RADIANT PRESENCE video will also premiere on Visual AIDS' website (www.visualaids.org) on December 1, with a widespread social media campaign to distribute the project.

At this point in the AIDS epidemic, over 39 million people have died of AIDS-related causes. The nature of the crisis has changed, however, so that nearly just as many people, 36 million, are living with HIV today. In this context, RADIANT PRESENCE showcases the resilience and vitality of Visual AIDS’ Artist Members and their artwork, preserving the radiance of those who have passed while provoking dialogue about the needs and experiences of people living with HIV.

RADIANT PRESENCE provokes conversations about HIV criminalization and stigma, access to treatment, the shifting demographics of people living with HIV and the disproportionate effect of the epidemic on communities of color and transwomen.

RADIANT PRESENCE is inspired by the 25th Anniversary of Electric Blanket, an epic slide show about AIDS created by photographers Nan Goldin, Allen Frame and Frank Franca for Visual AIDS which intersperses the work of over 200 photographers with slide texts that include demographics, data, and slogans about AIDS worldwide. The slide show, initially projected on the façade of Cooper Union on December 1 1990, was later projected on public walls and buildings internationally.

On and around World AIDS Day, December 1, 2015, RADIANT PRESENCE will reach thousands of viewers through public screenings, social media and public programs in museums, art institutions, universities, AIDS service organizations and online venues.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Luca Maurer at lmaurer@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-7394. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.