HIV: a conversation in dance

James Welsby, Chafia Brooks and Benjamin Hancock.
Photo: Gregory Lorenzutti 

'HEX' is a one hour contemporary dance show that looks at the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s from a Gen Y perspective. 

Guest blogger and dance maker James Welsby explains how the show came about.

I've known about ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) for a while, but the recent release of a few core-shaking documentaries made of archival footage has allowed me to take a much closer look at the movement and get a stronger idea of what it felt like to be involved in AIDS activism.

Debby Doesn’t Do It For Free

The Debby Doesn't Do It For Free interactive exhibition is coming to Sydney from 2 - 6 June.

Opening on International Whore's Day at the Tap Gallery, the exhibition's described as a 'celebration and homage to sex work'. It will include videos, prints, soundscapes, installations, the popular 'Ask a Hooker a Question' booth and more.

The exhibition is put together by the Debbys - an independent sex worker art and performance collective inspired by the 70s porn film Debby Does Dallas. It's a fun opportunity to find out more about sex work and sex workers' lives, politics, advocacy and creativity.

We asked one of the artists, Difficult Debby, to tell us more.

Lyle Chan - an AIDS activist's thoughts on music, history, and creativity

Lyle Chan in the early 90s.
Photo: Pattarapa Tsunpruck.
Reproduced from the National
AIDS Bulletin

Today, Lyle Chan is an acclaimed composer whose works have been commissioned and performed by major artists including soprano Taryn Fiebig, pianist Simon Tedeschi, Sydney Philharmonia Choir and the even former Foreign Minister Bob Carr.

But in the early nineties Lyle was a core member of ACT UP and other AIDS organisations. He and fellow activists couriered AIDS treatments from the US that were unavailable in Australia, fiercely lobbying the Australian government to approve experimental treatments more quickly.

Lyle's composition, String Quartet: An AIDS Activist's Memoir, was sketched in the crisis years 1991-1996, but only completed 20 years later.

In the lead up to several performances of the complete work, associated with the AIDS 2014 conference, Lyle spoke to Jill Sergeant, AFAO Project Officer, about the memoir, activism, and the value of music.