After the public opening of In A Dream You Saw A Way To Survive And You Were Filled With Joy, an exhibition organized by Keith Fox and Stephen Truax at David Kordansky Gallery, donating artists and Memorial supporters gathered at the iconic Julius’ Bar in the West Village to continue the celebration and to toast the first decade of the New York City AIDS Memorial.

Continuing the celebration of the New York City AIDS Memorial’s 10th anniversary, artists, collectors, friends, and supporters attended the public opening of In A Dream You Saw A Way To Survive And You Were Filled With Joy, a benefit exhibition curated by Keith Fox and Stephen Truax at David Kordansky Gallery in Chelsea on October 28.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the New York City AIDS Memorial, supporters gathered to celebrate a decade of remembrance and fund its future. The evening featured cocktails at Bar Pisellino, a family-style dinner at Spazio Creativo by chefs Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, and performances by Marie-Claire Giraud, Isaac Mizrahi, and Ana Gasteyer.

On July 11, in collaboration with Poster House and as part of West Side Fest 2026, the New York City AIDS Memorial led a tour of the site and its environs, including the LGBT Community Center and former St. Vincent’s Hospital, before ending at Poster House’s current exhibition, Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS.

From dawn until dusk, artist Maria De Victoria stood holding a single white sheet at the New York City AIDS Memorial. Visitors were invited to join her through a simple, direct ask: "Help me hold this." This back-and-forth made the ongoing labor of care visible, honoring the grassroots networks that held communities together through the AIDS crisis, and, in particular, the women whose contributions are too often erased. This performance was presented as part of West Side Fest.

Our second co-presentation of A Dance of Life, performed by Giancarlo Latta and Robert Fleitz, revived an important but neglected repertoire of works for violin and piano by composers who died during the AIDS crisis, including rediscovered works from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' collections.

On Saturday, June 20, the New York City AIDS Memorial transformed into a vibrant sanctuary of radical joy for our immersive Pride Open House, bringing together community, drag icons, and an incredible lineup of local DJs. Guests danced in solidarity and celebrated the progress made in the fight for queer liberation amidst a breathtaking, site-wide floral installation and performances by the Legends of Drag.

On June 20, the New York City AIDS Memorial celebrated the opening of its newest public art commission, Oscar Tuazon’s Eternal Flame for Scott Burton. The dedication ceremony featured moving remarks from the artist alongside leadership from the Memorial, NYC Department of Parks, and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, welcoming guests for an exclusive first look at the completed sculpture.

On June 5, the New York City AIDS Memorial was joined by a cohort of leading activist and service organizations, including ACT UP, Callen-Lorde, Housing Works, and Rise and Resist, to commemorate Long-Term HIV/AIDS Survivors Awareness Day, the 45th anniversary of the first reports of AIDS, and Seven Days in June to fight cuts to healthcare.

Reimagining the New York City AIDS Memorial as a dynamic site of memory and empowerment, pioneering digital platform Kinfolk and the New York City AIDS Memorial presented Portals of Remembrance, a year-long exhibition featuring three augmented reality monuments created by four renowned contemporary artists: Derek Fordjour, Jacolby Satterwhite, and Tourmaline & Egyptt LaBeija.

These artist-focused Community AIDS Memorial Quilt-Making Workshops led by artist Erika deVries, took place at Manhattan’s Poster House, in support of their exhibition Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS. Over two days, we created new quilt panels for members of the creative community lost to AIDS.

Each December, we gather to honor the lives lost to HIV/AIDS, uplift those still affected, and recommit ourselves to the fight for equity, care, and an end to the epidemic. For World AIDS Day 2025, the New York City AIDS Memorial welcomed the public for our annual free observance, presented in partnership with organizations working to unite communities, amplify remembrance, and advance the movement to end AIDS.

In this special screening, composer-curator Nick Hallett introduced two visionary video works by Ron Hays (1945—1991), a television director whose exposure to computer animation tools in the 1970s transformed his career, and whose early death from AIDS-related illness complicates an indexing of his otherworldly art. This program was co-presented with Electronic Arts Intermix.

Co-presented with ChamberQUEER, violinist Giancarlo Latta was joined by pianist Robert Fleitz to present A Dance of Life: Violin Music of the AIDS Era on November 6 at Greenwich House Music School. This recital program revived an important but neglected repertoire of works for violin and piano by composers who died during the AIDS crisis.

On September 13, the New York City AIDS Memorial once again welcomed The Generations Project to produce our seventh afternoon of live storytelling, focusing on five moving and personal stories related to Hart Island, located off the coast of the Bronx, which is home to the largest public cemetery in the United States and holds a painful chapter of the AIDS epidemic.

On July 12, the New York City AIDS Memorial and Kinfolk Tech partnered for a Community Imagination Workshop at the LGBT Community Center as a part of the 3rd Annual West Side Fest. Participants were invited to dream with the archives to explore the under-told histories of LGBTQ+ communities, and to imagine expansive futures through collaging and zine-making using archival materials.

On June 14, Legends of Drag returned for its third fabulous year, celebrating trailblazing queens who have shaped queer culture for decades. This year’s event also featured The Red Ribbon Revue, a dynamic showcase of HIV-positive performers, bringing together generations in a joyful, defiant celebration of identity, legacy, and resilience. Against a backdrop of renewed attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, the evening stood as a powerful testament to visibility during Pride Month.

The New York City AIDS Memorial and National AIDS Memorial presented a screening of Cashing Out followed a Q&A with director Matt Nadel moderated by filmmaker Sian-Pierre Regis. A festival favorite, Cashing Out explores the morally complex world of viatical settlements during the AIDS crisis, when thousands of queer people sold their life insurance policies to survive. Through intimate stories and a personal connection, the film examines dignity, survival, and the legacy of a forgotten economy.