Day Without Art Wednesday

'The Burning,' one of the works of art on public display around Salisbury, is shrouded for 'A Day Without Art' in recognition of World AIDS Day on Wednesday. Works of art around the city will be shrouded later today and remain shrouded until Thursday. The Rowan County AIDS Task Force is sponsoring A Day Without Art.

Rowan County AIDS Task Force

With HIV/AIDS no longer in the daily headlines, many assume the disease has been conquered.

No, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) has not been cured. But like diabetes, it is now controlled with medications. Today, more people in the United States are living with AIDS than dying from it.

In other parts of the world, the situation is not as encouraging. Less than half of those needing treatment in sub-Saharan Africa receive it.

For World AIDS Day on Wednesday, the Rowan County AIDS Task Force is working to acknowledge those living with AIDS in Rowan County. The task force has borrowed an idea pioneered in the country’s major cities.

Hundreds of artists, designers and entertainers died of AIDS in America’s cities in the late 1980s. As a memorial, many nationally prominent museums and galleries shrouded art works on World AIDS Day for a Day Without Art.

With the cooperation of the city of Salisbury, the AIDS Task Force is planning an equally dramatic statement. Art objects included in the 2010 Salisbury Sculpture Show will be shrouded — covered with black cloth — on Wednesday. So will pottery, paintings and art work in or around various shops and art galleries in Salisbury. Twenty-five Blue Masque students at Catawba College will wear black Wednesday and AIDS awareness signs. The largest work of art to be shrouded will be the massive Livingstone College Bear sculpture on the school’s quadrangle.

Shrouds will be placed over the works today and removed Thursday.

“We hope A Day Without Art will raise awareness of AIDS in Rowan County,” said Dr. Gordon Senter, president of the Rowan County AIDS Task Force. “When you see a familiar work of art covered in black on Dec. 1, remember those in our community who live with HIV/AIDS every day and those who have died of the devastating disease.”

In Rowan County, 101 people receive case management services for HIV/AIDS. A total of 215 people in Rowan County had tested positive for AIDS or HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) as of Dec. 31, 2009. The mission of the Rowan County AIDS Task Force is to provide services that improve the lives of individuals and families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

“We do that,” Senter said, “through Rowan Regional Hospice HIV case management. The task force also works to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through education and testing.”

In addition to the city of Salisbury, Livingstone College and Catawba College, the following businesses and organizations are participating in A Day Without Art: Critters, Pottery 101, A Step in Time, Southern Spirit Gallery, Cut Up and Dye, Fine Frame Gallery and Waterworks. Diversified Graphics printed the fliers.

For more information about AIDS, the Rowan County AIDS Task Force or A Day Without Art or to make a contribution, contact Senter at 704-639-9580.