The exhibition “HIVstories: Living Politics” explores the personal stories and struggles, or”living politics”, of HIV/AIDS activists from around the world whose stories have all too often been overlooked in narratives surrounding the epidemic. The life and work of these activists provide perspectives from some particularly impacted communities in Europe. A section on Germany will focus on HIV prevention in prisons. In Poland, the expression of discontent through protest is narrated with the support of interview excerpts with HIV and harm reduction activists. A section on Turkey will scrutinise the sexualisation of HIV among trans* sex workers. Finally a section on the UK will investigate current discussions surrounding HIV by looking back to gay life before the virus as well as contemporary discussions on the prevention medication PrEP. „HIVstories” is an open invitation to look at the past and present of HIV activism from a perspective that embraces the fringes of society.

The exhibition consists of a collection of oral history interviews, artefacts and art works that have been collected over the course of the three-year research project, “Disentangling European HIV/AIDS Policies: Activism, Citizenship and Health” (EUROPACH), which explores how narratives of the past continue to impact the unfolding of the epidemic. The project focuses on the ways in which lives are shaped by politics – and politics by lives – in different regions of Europe.

The exhibition will take place in conjunction with an international conference at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in which the themes in question in the exhibition will be further conceptualised, collectively analysed, and reimagined in presentations, films, and discussions. Over the coming year [2019-20], the exhibition will travel to Istanbul, Krakow and London.

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/26767