Advocates carry the banner at the 32nd Out of the Darkness World AIDS Day candlelight vigil in 2023.
Donna Aceto
Events will be taking place in New York City to mark World AIDS Day, which is commemorated annually on Dec. 1 to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS internationally, acknowledge those living with HIV/AIDS, and pay tribute to the lives lost over the years.
NYC AIDS MEMORIAL
The New York City AIDS Memorial is leading a free public observance of World AIDS Day with two days of programming.
First, the 33rd annual Out of the Darkness candlelight vigil and march — organized by Brent Nicholson Earle, Jeff Bosacki, Robert Gonzalez, and Barbara Martinez — will be held on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. at the New York City AIDS Memorial, which is at 76 Greenwich Ave. in Manhattan at the corner of West 12th St.
The vigil will last for about 30 minutes before attendees will make their way to St. John’s Lutheran Church at 81 Christopher Street for an event with speakers and performers.
“The recent national election has shown the great divisions in our country,” said Brent Nicholson Earle, the founder and president of American Run for the End of AIDS, Inc. (AREA), which founded the Out of the Darkness event. “This year’s theme of ‘Building Community’ for our Out of the Darkness events is so urgent and relevant and necessary. Please join us on December 1 as we light our candles in solidarity, in remembrance, in activism and in hope.”
The programming continues on Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. when the NYC AIDS Memorial hosts a third annual event dedicated to reading the names of New Yorkers lost to AIDS. That event is being held in conjunction with Housing Works, a non-profit organization serving New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and experiencing homelessness.
The NYC AIDS Memorial is also teaming up with Queer Soup Night, a volunteer-led group working to provide queer communities with soup. Four New York City-based LGBTQ chefs — Liz Alpern (Queer Soup Night), Phoebe Tran (Bé Bếp), Surbhi Sahni (TAGMO), and Eric See (Ursula) — will lead a World AIDS Day soup event on Dec. 2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the NYC AIDS Memorial.
WHITNEY MUSEUM
As part of a program called Day With(out) Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art is working with Visual AIDS to present Red Reminds Me DWA 24, a screening of videos covering the emotional spectrum of living with HIV today.
The premiere will feature a post-screening discussion featuring four artists: Milko Delgado, Imani Harrington, David Oscar Harvey, and Vasilios Papapitsios.
The event is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Dec. 1 in the theater on the third floor at the Whitney Museum of American Art at 99 Gansevoort Street in Manhattan. To maintain safety for immunocompromised individuals, attendees must wear face coverings.
WORLD AIDS DAY MARATHON
The Richard M. Brodsky Foundation, which is raising funds to support the foundation’s work in Kenya, is hosting a World AIDS Day Marathon on the Rockaway Boardwalk with options for a half marathon, 10k, and 5k. The event begins at the Rockaway Beach Playground at 7215 Beach Front Rd. in Far Rockaway. Learn more at worldaidsmarathon.com.
NYC HEALTH DEPARTMENT
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is hosting a World AIDS Day event on Dec. 4 from 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dr. S. Stevan Dweck Cultural Center at Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library at 10 Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. The theme for the citywide event is “We Are Stronger Together: Ending the Epidemic by Fighting Stigma, Building Community, and Empowering the Next Generation.”
The event will offer an overview of HIV surveillance data, remarks from the department and community partners, and live performances. The event will also feature the presentation of awards to honorees in commemoraton of World AIDS Day. The event is free, but folks can reserve a spot via Eventbrite.
