Art Phoenix, A New Exhibition Celebrating HIV+ Creativity Comes To Sydney Ahead Of Mardi Gras

HIV frontline service the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation has partnered with the National Art School to present Art Phoenix, a one-night only exhibition showing artworks celebrating the creativity, resilience, and lived experiences of people living with HIV.

The exhibition brings together emerging and first-time artists who have created artworks over four weeks of artmaking workshops programmed by the National Art School, which explore identity, stigma, survival, joy and community connection.

“During the height of the HIV epidemic, creative expression became a lifeline, a way to cope, to make sense of a diagnosis and to stay connected when the world turned away. Art Phoenix continues that legacy, bringing people together to heal and create,” said Ruan Uys, BGF Programs Manager.

“Our partnership with BGF gives people living with HIV a creative home at the National Art School – a place where their stories, histories and emotions can be explored through colour, texture and form. The artworks created through this program are powerful, deeply personal and incredibly moving. We are honoured to stand alongside BGF in presenting them to the public at Mardi Gras,” said Dr. Kristen Sharp, Director and CEO of the National Art School.

Bobby Goldsmith was one of the first Australians to die from an AIDS-related illness in 1984. According to the foundation, in his final weeks his friends came together to ensure he could remain at home, surrounded by love and treated with dignity, and it was from that act of love that the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation was formed. For over forty years BGF has provided practical, emotional, and financial support for people living with HIV, and remain the only community-based organisation in Australia solely focused on delivering HIV frontline services.

In the lead up to Mardi Gras, it’s worth checking out the Ending HIV Pre-Party Checklist, which is a handy resource for where to get full sexual health screens, including HIV and STIs, HIV self-testing kits, PrEP, and

Art Phoenix takes place on Thursday 26 February, 6pm – 8pm at the Cell Block Theatre, National Art School, 156 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst. All artwork sales go directly to the artists.