Marseille 2007
| Abstract #289 - The Rainbow of Hope - challenging stigma and discrimination through art | ||||
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Session: 26.9: Posters B (Poster) on Tuesday in Chaired by Authors: Presenting Author: Ms ELIZABETH BROWN - MADaboutART, South Africa |
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| Additional Authors: Mr ANDILE NCAMBE, Mr ALRIDGE ROBERTSON, | ||||
| Aim: Young people at MADaboutART in the township of Nekkies in South Africas Western Cape wanted to express their emotional responses to HIV through art in order to teach others both in their communities and internationally. | ||||
| Method / Issue: HIV prevalence locally is officially 25%. Art is a powerful, non-threatening medium to stimulate discussion on HIV. The Rainbow of Hope represents the voices of young people living with and affected by HIV in an artistic narrative about feelings and emotions. At the conceptual phase children drew on personal experiences and interviewed the few HIV-positive people who disclosed locally. Story-boarding identified the narrative theme beginning with feelings evoked at point of diagnosis onwards, finding roads to empowerment and a future that recreates normality by overcoming stigma and discrimination, both from self and others. 28 postcard-sized concept panels were created to engage funders and subsequently purchased by International financiers KPMG. In phase 2 the narrative progression was strengthened and 25 A2 panels were made to educate communities locally and through international exchange. The final phase, the installation for World AIDS Day 2005 in Londons required the story to be reworked in 18 panels, each 2.3m by 1.2m and the entire installation 22m long. Each panel tells its part of the story. Body mapping techniques introduce artists outlines as angels supporting the next sequence. The narrative is drawn together by two intersecting rainbows, symbols of hope and peace and the Rainbow Nation South Africa. The work is accompanied by written testaments from the young artists, 13 of whom travelled to the UK to present the work. UK school children added handprints as a sign of solidarity. Exhibitions in 2006 include Toronto (World AIDS Conference) and Cape Town (World AIDS Day). | ||||
| Results / Comments: The Rainbow of Hope captures emotional responses of a group of South African youth so close to the epidemic and viewers relate to its unfolding story. The artwork challenges viewers to talk and to seek to understand the emotions of living with HIV by involving them in its story, sharing pain, feelings and resolutions. The audience is invited to examine their own approaches to HIV, challenging stigma and discrimination and promoting greater understanding of HIV at a personal, family, community and global level. The use of team art provides a safe learning space that supports the development of self confidence and life skills. | ||||
| Discussion: Art exhibitions generate interest and connect with hard-to-reach communities by virtue of their size, beauty and powerful visual stimulus. The power of art to invoke discussion is an essential step in overcoming silence and fighting stigma and discrimination by initiating debate. It is important that campaigns are locally generated, enabling children in local communities to speak out with local messages for local people. The Rainbow of Hope illustrates the strong and powerful role young people can play in education and in the fight against HIV. | ||||
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