An exhibition of photographs taken by children affected by AIDS will be displayed at The University of Queensland from November 23 to December 2, as part of Australian National AIDS week.
The exhibition will be on display in the Heath Room of the Aung San Suu Kyi Conference Centre (formerly known as the UQ Union Complex) at the St Lucia campus.
It will be open to the public from 9am to 7pm on weekdays, and 9am to 5pm on the weekend.
The exhibition is being organised by two UQ Rotary Peace Scholars Amy Kay and Carolyn Fanelli, in conjunction with the Queensland AIDS Council.
Titled She is Health, the exhibition will also feature photographs, creative writing and letters to politicians from a young AIDS activist from Ethiopia named Tenanesh. Tenanesh is the English translation of “she is health”.
Eric Gottesman, a pioneering documentary photographer, developed the exhibition and collaborated with Tenanesh and other Ethiopian children affected by AIDS, to help them document their experiences.
Ms Kay worked with Mr Gottesman in Ethiopia for the grassroots non-profit organisation Hope for Children as part of her studies in International Relations (Peace and Conflict Resolution).
“Eric used a unique method of photography. Rather than taking pictures of the children and reporting on their lives as AIDS orphans, or children living with HIV/AIDS, they were asked to tell their own stories,” Ms Kay said.
“Eric taught them how to use the camera as a tool for empowerment, to make their own photographs and to have a say in representing what HIV/AIDS means.”
On World AIDS Day, December 1, there will be a public forum at 6pm on the theme of World AIDS Day, Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS. The forum will also be held in the Aung San Suu Kyi Conference Centre at UQ’s St Lucia campus.
The event is sponsored by the UQ Union Postgraduate Students Area with the support of the Women’s Area, the Queer Area, the School of Political Science and International Studies, the Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, UNIFEM UQ and the Queensland AIDS Council.
Media: For more information, contact Amy Kay (mobile: 0415 101 178 or email: sheishealth@yahoo.com) or Elizabeth Kerr at UQ Communications (telephone: 07 3365 2339 or email: e.kerr@uq.edu.au).
