Guest Column by Araya Baker | Reflecting on Penn and the AIDS epidemic
(07/20/18 2:04pm)
The AIDS Memorial is a digital archival project that features portraits of famous and everyday LGBTQ+ identifying — mostly gay men — who died during the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, from approximately 1981 to the early 1990s. Yet, perusing this Instagram account (one of Anderson Cooper’s favorites, I might add) feels more like touring a museum exhibit than scrolling through a social media timeline. The mostly black-and-white photographs are brought to life by vivid anecdotes and intimate tributes penned by the friends, family, and former significant others of those commemorated.