AIDS Correspondences explores the evolving temporalities of living with HIV/AIDS and the changing social attitudes towards the virus over the years. Through screenings, narration and discussion, the programme looks into the histories of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Greece and Spain, presenting artistic and activist responses that reflect on social attitudes, mostly from when infection signalled death and examining the distinctiveness of these contexts to globally dominant histories (Tuesday). The programme will then explore the contemporary temporality of living with HIV, examining the impact of antiretroviral therapies on sex, subjectivity and lived experiences, especially in gay male subcultures (Wednesday).

AIDS Correspondences is the outcome of a series of exchanges between Panos Fourtoulakis with Aimar Arriola and with João Florêncio—correspondence as a way to connect times and places, presences and absences.

The programme consists of 2 sessions, on 27 and 28 February.

Tuesday 27th: Screening and discussion between Panos Fourtoulakis and Aimar Arriola.
Wednesday 28th: Presentation by João Florêncio followed by discussion with Panos Fourtoulakis.

Tuesday 27/2
6-8 pm
Curators Panos Fourtoulakis and Aimar Arriola present aspects of their ongoing correspondence on artistic responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis across Greece and Spain and broader reflections on related topics. Moving image works, documentation of performances, activist actions, and other material -sourced from publicly accessible and private archives- serve as entry points to access and reflect upon often-forgotten queer temporalities. The session explores how the two countries’ histories resonate with one another and how they diverge from globally dominant HIV/AIDS narratives.

Moving image works, video excepts, performance, and activist documentation by: ACT UP Barcelona, Águeda Bañón, Alexis Bistikas, Las Pekinesas, colectivo LSD (Liliana Couso, Virginia Villaplana, Fefa Vila), Pepe Espaliú, Pepe Mirales, Vicky Vergou, among others.

Selection by Panos Fourtoulakis and Aimar Arriola (as part of the AIDS Anarchive project developed with Nancy Garín and Linda Valdés).

Image: Las Pekinesas, Sida Da, performance documentation, still, 8:52 min, 1985.

Presented by Aimar Arriola and Panos Fourtoulakis

Panos Fourtoulakis is an independent curator whose practice centers on media cultures, their ability to produce subjectivities, and the relationship of liveness and embodied presence to mediation, particularly concerning moving image practices. He studied Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art; and is currently a fellow at Onassis AiR in Athens, researching artistic responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Greece.

Aimar Arriola works as a curator, editor and researcher. Graduated from MACBA’s Independent Studies Program, he has a PhD in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London. For over a decade now, together with Nancy Garín and Linda Valdés, he has developed the AIDS Anarchive project, on the cultural dimension of the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis. He has recently been a Research Associate (2020-2023) at AZ Alhóndiga, Bilbao.

AIDS Correspondences is the outcome of Fourtoulakis’ curatorial residency at LOOP, Barcelona and Matadero, Μadrid in spring 2024.
Fourtoulakis’ research on artistic responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Greece is supported by Onassis AiR, Athens.

Language: english