AIDS, Art, and the Horror of Institutional Abandonment: Lesbian Care

What happens when the institutions meant to protect us fail?

This participatory session looks at art and activism from the AIDS crisis as responses to fear, loss, stigma, and institutional abandonment. We’ll begin with the visual culture of ACT UP and Gran Fury, then turn to St. Vincent’s Hospital, the NYC AIDS Memorial, and lesbian geographies of care, the often overlooked networks of caregiving, advocacy, and community support that emerged during the crisis.

Together, we’ll look closely at images, trace what institutions preserved or erased, and consider how art makes absence visible. A short activity will invite participants to identify similar gaps, silences, or networks of care within the histories they teach.

The session asks a simple question: When institutions fail, what can people make together in their place?

Participants will leave with a visual and archival approach they can adapt to teaching difficult histories through fear, absence, memory, and care.

Eligible part-time faculty who participate qualify for a $75 stipend.

*This event is for faculty and staff only.