Community members are being recruited to participate in a multi-disciplinary memorial to Philadelphians and the HIV/AIDS crisis. The project, called Remembrance, is a multi-year effort led by the William Way LGBT Community Center and its John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives in partnership with artists, activists, and community leaders.
From the William Way Community Center: “Remembrance includes contextual oral history gathering through a series of community listening sessions, an original play inspired by undertold stories from the early days of the AIDS crisis, a “going home” ceremony to meaningfully provide a proper memorial to those at risk of being forgotten, and a dedicated web portal documenting the project’s entirety and the ongoing work of the Archives’ Philadelphia AIDS Oral History Project.”
A series of community listening sessions are being held over Zoom to collect stories and accounts of deceased community members who lived with HIV. The listening sessions will also be an opportunity for individuals to share about their own experiences during the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Anyone interested in participating in one of these listening sessions and sharing stories and accounts of someone now deceased but who lived with HIV should email remembrance@waygay.org. Remembrance organizers will schedule interested participants for a Zoom listening session.
Stories and memories are also being collected through an online form. Responses can be submitted anonymously if preferred.
For more information about Remembrance, please visit https://www.waygay.org/remembrance. Remembrance is supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.