The Welch Medical Library, in conjunction with the Institute of the History of Medicine and the Chesney Medical Archives, is pleased to announce the opening of two complimentary historical exhibits about HIV/AIDS messaging and education. Both exhibits are on display on the second floor of the library beginning Monday, February 12, 2024.
- AIDS Posters and Stories of Public Health: A People’s History of a Pandemic, the National Library of Medicine produced this exhibit and the companion website. On display: Feb. 12-Mar. 23.
- Spreading the Word: HIV/AIDS Education and the People’s Health, 1983-2001, designed by: Jason M. Chernesky (IHOM), Terri Hatfield (Chesney), and Michael Seminara (IHOM). On display: Feb. 12-May 24.
The CDC reported the first cases of AIDS on June 5, 1981. In 1985, scientists confirmed that AIDS was caused by a virus, later named the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. Since the first reported cases of the disease, HIV/AIDS has killed some 40 million worldwide.
In response to the pandemic, activists, artists, community-health organizations, public health experts, and healthcare professionals created a variety of visually engaging materials that sought to educate the public about the disease and its prevention. In other instances, HIV/AIDS became the subject of specific pieces of art and popular culture.
On display are two complimentary exhibits highlighting examples of these visually engaging materials. The NLM’s traveling exhibit, AIDS Posters and Stories of Public Health: A People’s History of a Pandemic, highlights the cultural output of community workers, activists, and artists who sought to educate the public about HIV/AIDS. In the exhibit Spreading the Word: HIV/AIDS Education and the People’s Health, 1983-2001, visitors will see how different types of print media and images were used in public-health initiatives, AIDS education, art, and popular culture in the United States from 1983 to 2001. These media and images range from public health posters and pamphlets to graphic novels and comic books.
Both exhibits encourage us to think about how HIV/AIDS messaging has changed over time and to interrogate how some of the messaging was delivered. The exhibits remind us, too, about the impact HIV/AIDS has had on the lives of people in the U.S. and beyond. The exhibits also stand as another important reminder. Despite the historical material on display, HIV/AIDS is not a thing of the past.