25 years to fight AIDS

Graphic Intervention: 25 Years of International AIDS Awareness Posters 1985–2010 is an exhibition of notable AIDS-awareness posters created around the world in the past 25 years.

The rampant spread of the HIV/AIDS virus over the past 29 years has created the most significant global public health crisis in modern history. Despite the complexity and scale of the epidemic, there is still a lack of worldwide strategies to lead AIDS education. AIDS education in many countries is still shouldered, to a great extent, by government agencies and grassroots organizations led by community activists who are often motivated local citizens.

So whilst many infected people are now able to manage the disease, the task of preventing further cases demands that raising of public awareness remain a priority. Elizabeth Resnick, the show’s curator states: “In many countries, the poster as a medium of information was unknown before the emergence and identification of the HIV virus.” The exhibition, presented by the Massachusetts College of Art & Design and Korn Design is on at the Art Directors Club in New York from 6 June to 29 July.

The video shown below—unrelated to the exhibition—further illustrates the evolution of campaigns in recent years, from print to digital delivery.