Event: West Side Fest AIDS History Walking Tour
Co-presented with Poster House
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Part of West Side Fest 2026
On Saturday, July 11, we explored the intersection of history, art, and grassroots activism. This immersive program began with a guided walking tour of the New York City AIDS Memorial—including its newest site-specific installation, Eternal Flame for Scott Burton by artist Oscar Tuazon—as well as its historic environs, like the LGBT Community Center and the former St. Vincent’s Hospital. This portion of the tour sought to ground visitors in the West Village neighborhood that served as the poignant epicenter of the epidemic, allowing them to trace the footsteps of advocates, caretakers, and activists who changed the course of history.
This journey culminated in a visit to the exhibition Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS, curated by Ian Bradley-Perrin at Poster House. This exhibition explores how graphic design shaped New York’s grassroots response to AIDS from 1979 to 2003. Through a striking collection of public health campaigns, agitprop, benefit flyers, and club handbills, the exhibition offers more than just historical material, showing how communities built survival and communication systems from the ground up.
This program was part of West Side Fest, a three-day celebration of arts and culture across Manhattan’s historic West Side, organized by the West Side Cultural Network.