Introduction
There are more than 40 AIDS memorials and monuments across the United States and Canada. Unlike the tributes created in the aftermath of war or in honor of a noteworthy person long after their death, AIDS memorials, like the AIDS Memorial Quilt, have been—and are being—created amid an ever-developing crisis.
For the past 10 years, I’ve worked at the intersection of art, AIDS and activism, and I’ve often wondered: How do you create an AIDS memorial during an ongoing epidemic? I recently explored this topic in an article published in C Magazine, and I compiled a list of different types of AIDS memorials. The following slideshow is by no means a comprehensive list. Rather, these are examples that explore the unique position of AIDS memorials in the 21st century as they try to honor our history while wrestling with the present.
