Cultural impact of AIDS

Overview: How have artists responded to the HIV virus creatively in their work, and what effect have their projects had on communities and attitudes as a whole? This panel of experts from around the globe examines the challenges of folding HIV narratives into creative work. Sean Strub was the first gay, HIV positive man to run for federal office in the United States. His book Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS and Survival examines how the AIDS pandemic laid waste to the LGBT community and chronicles how activism has been at the root of a deep cultural shift in attitudes towards the disease. Joining Sean are Dion Kagan, Jessica Whitbread and Paul Woodward. Dion is an academic and writer who lectures on gender and sexuality. Jessica is a visual artist and activist, well known for her No Pants No Problem project. Paul is a British performance academic and storyteller. Leading writer and thinker Dennis Altman leads this incredible panel in a discussion on how deeply HIV and AIDS have impacted the cultural community, and how their responses have opened enlightening and exciting avenues of change.