FERNDALE - Shades of Black and Brown, a gallery opening reception focusing on the impact of HIV/AIDS among communities of color, kicks off the 2014 Pittmann-Puckett Gallery exhibition season Feb. 7 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The opening will feature works and performances by young artists of color in celebration of Black History Month and African American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
The event will feature a Photo Voice project presented from the lenses of youth community members who are a part of an HIV Prevention group in Detroit known as the REC Boyz. The photographs displayed represent how each one of them see HIV/AIDS represented in young black LGBT communities. Other featured artists of color include Katherine Boswell and Rhiannon Chester. Billione will perform, the author of several books including his most recent poetic play The Birth of Mars and short novel set in Detroit, No Tea. No Shade. DJ Tone will spin. Admission is free and open to the public.
Affirmations, Metro Detroit's community center for LGBT people and their allies along with Status Sexy, a movement to increase testing by decreasing the stigma surrounding HIV for young men, are co-producing the event. Using its website as the focal point, the statussexy.com campaign takes both innovative and traditional approaches to engage populations at the highest risk for HIV. This community driven movement empowers young people to manage their heath by knowing their status free of judgment, shame, or insecurity.
The Pittmann-Puckett Gallery is located in Affirmations, 295 West 9 Mile Rd., Ferndale. For more information, visit http://www.GoAffirmations.org.
