Forty years ago, the first reports of a strange new disease began to circulate in the press and, in particular, among the LGBTQ+ community, communities of color, and creative communities in New York City. At the time, little was known about this illness and few could have foreseen the devastation that would emerge on the horizon. We also could not begin to imagine the four decades of stories of loss, fear, triumph, courage, resilience, and hope to come. Ten years ago, an ambitious plan was conceived to build an architecturally significant, permanent memorial to the AIDS epidemic, resulting in the dedication of the New York City AIDS Memorial on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2016.
Today, the Memorial honors the more than 100,000 New Yorkers who have died throughout the AIDS epidemic. We also acknowledge the past and ongoing contributions of caregivers and advocates who mobilized to provide care, fight stigma and discrimination, and expand access to healthcare for all. Through multimedia programs, such as previous activations with Jenny Holzer, exhibitions featuring Keith Haring, General Idea, and Catherine Opie, and collaborations with the Generations Project, Performance Space New York, the Poetry Project at St. Marks, and PEN America, we strive to enliven the Memorial and empower present and future activists.
The Memorial would not be what it is today without the uncompromising support of these artists who join us in acknowledging the loss of the creative lives of such luminaries like Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Hujar, Félix González-Torres, Mark Morrisroe, Nicolas Moufarrege, Hugh Steers, Tseng Kwong Chi, Paul Thek, Ethyl Eichelberger, Arthur Russell, Melvin Dixon, Cookie Mueller, Arnie Zane, Klaus Nomi, Martin Wong, David Wojnarowicz, and countless, countless others – friends, colleagues, lovers, family, neighbors, mentors, fellow citizens, and heroes alike.
We are incredibly grateful for the support and contributions of the exemplary contemporary artists featured in Unquestioning Love, each of which helps us to reflect on our complex and powerful past and to make certain that the memories of those we’ve lost, and our shared history as New Yorkers, are never forgotten.
— Dave Harper,
Executive Director, New York City AIDS Memorial