When most people think about HIV/AIDS, they usually equate the disease with despair and death, but with people with the disease living longer, healthier, more quality lives -- it shows that there is hope.
With that in mind the Bahamas AIDS Foundation will host "Art for Hope: Getting to Zero" a silent auction and cocktail reception on Friday, May 31 at the National Art Gallery from 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.
"This is a forum where artists can express through their works how art is hopeful," said Carlyne Smith, executive director of the AIDS Foundation.
When the AIDS Foundation invited artists from the full gamut of the fine arts, including photography, sculpture, mixed media, painting and drawings to participate by donating charitable pieces of their work to Art For Hope, they did so hoping the artists would submit work centered around the disease and to give the artists the opportunity to stand up and be counted. Most artists submitted pieces they had out of kind.
Artists showing will include Bernard Petit, Yvette Rolle, Jessica Colebrooke, Clifford Fernander, Allan Pachino Wallace, Alistair Stevenson, Kishan Munroe, Dawnita Fry, Trevor Tucker, Dion Lewis, Fabian Fountain, Toby Lunn, Paul Hennis, Makario Gibson, Neko Meicholas, Lemero Wright, William Munroe, Abby Smith and Cydne.
"We're very pleased with the artists we have and we're also pleased even that we have persons who are not as well-known like Lemero Wright and Abby Smith, and not only persons who do paintings. We have sculptors, persons who create jewelry, ceramicists, painters, mixed media, photography -- the full gamut of fine arts, so it's something different," said Smith.
With a number of other art shows taking place at the same time as the AIDS Foundation's show, Smith said it was initially tough going getting a roster of artists, but she said once the artists found out the show was for a charitable cause, they were more than willing to donate pieces.
During the auction, proceeds from the sale of pieces are: reserved price to the foundation and any sum above the reserved price to be divided 50-50 between the artist and the foundation.
Smith said the work of the Bahamas AIDS Foundation is worthy, necessary and benefits the society at large. And the donations will go towards three of the foundation's essential initiatives -- increasing public awareness of HIV/AIDS generally; maintaining the foundation's afterschool program for children infected with or affected by HIV and continuing the project that seeks to reduce mother-to-child transmission through education and other preventive measures that has enjoyed great success already.
"While we have made significant strides in the fight against this pernicious condition, it still affects too many of our people, most especially our youth," said Smith. "We want nothing less than to see the day HIV/AIDS is completely eradicated."
The UNAIDS theme until 2015 is getting to zero, and Smith said they're hoping that they're raising awareness in terms of getting to zero -- which is zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS related deaths here in The Bahamas.
Tickets for the silent auction and cocktail reception are $30. For more information, telephone 325-9326.

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