Encounters on Luv 'til it Hurts

A Visit With El Santo Taller de Cerámica (Bogotá)

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

*Spanish below

LTIH: Do you prefer being called Sergio or El Santo?

ES: You can call me anything, I like both, Sergio is the name that my parents gave me, and El Santo is the name that I gave to my work, I’ll tell you a little bit more about the story of El Santo.

I believe it is important to start by telling you that when I was very little my mother would scold me, saying in an ironic way: “you are a saint, you never do anything, absolutely nothing.” Hehehe. In our culture saints are important, and I confess that ever since I was a little boy I really liked the idea of saints as characters, beyond the religious, I like to think that there can exist beings with some type of magic power or presence, with a sensibility that can change things, make things, or achieve things. In religion, saints, and even God himself, are like superheroes who give their all for a better world. I think it is very beautiful for one to believe in something, and even to believe in something in order to live. So I got the idea that the saint could be this character that lives in me and that is manifested through art and drawing. Because I need to believe in him, in something.
And I believe that that is how the story of this character, or trademark, started in my art… And my saint really has fulfilled me, because I feel like, and I always tell my students, that I live the best version of Sergio, doing what I like best.

Conversa com Vinicius Couto (PT/EN)

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Early this year I got the chance to talk to Vinicius Couto in São Paulo about three strands of his work. The article contains images from a performance he made in São Paulo, Rio and Cairo. I was particularly interested in his idea of getting HIV+ people together, as well as what he says on ‘aesthetics’. His initial interview took place before COVID19, and I asked for clarification on his idea for getting people together a few days ago. xo Todd]

Fresh Designs for Love Positive Women 2020

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[On the occasion of Love Positive Women 2020, a project by Jessica Lynn Whitbread and partners around the world, Colombian graphic artist, Power Paola offered some new Spanish-language designs, which can be used for years to come as well. I met Power Paola through Daniel Santiago Salguero, who convened the Luciérnagas laboratory. Thanks Daniel and Power Paola!! xo Todd]

ART, POLICY, AND WELLNESS (1 of 2)

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*A few years back, I created a meeting concept called Artist Roundtable (or A.RT) … I want to resuscitate this particular discussion on health and wellness in order to share a unique policy paper that came thereafter as byproduct. This article was originally published by the World Policy Journal on June 9th, 2015_. xo Todd]_

What would a policy that incorporates our ideas of medicine look like?

On Friday, May 1, Artist Roundtable (A.RT) sought to answer this question during its third event, hosted by the World Policy Institute’s Arts-Policy Nexus. Developed by Todd Lester, director of Arts-Policy Nexus, A.RT is an approach to bridging different disciplines in creative work and policy-making as well as addressing crucial issues from varied directions.

artHIVism, Condom Art & a lifetime of caring

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*A longer EN language interview is available below for download; Todd Lanier Lester interviews Adriana Bertini for LUV.]

TLL: We met first in Barcelona at the 14th International AIDS Conference in 2002. I don’t remember too much about the trip, except that I was presenting a poster with a colleague on community sensitization work on HIV/AIDS we’d done together in the East Province of Cameroon as US Peace Corps volunteers. Again, a very long time ago.

Candles & Hearts #LPW2020

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Working together with the City of São Paulo office of Human Rights, George Ferraz prepared (styled) two downtown cultural spaces for Love Positive Women 2020 with the theme of Yemanjá and using the posters designed by Thiago. A message from the Office of Human Rights was distributed along with Valentines Day cards. The Human Rights flier encourages HIV+ women to use the city’s three citizenship centers for meetings any time of the year, and provides a QR Code to find more info easily. Both Tapera Taperá bar and esponja spaces in São Paulo hosted Love Positive Women-related info / set-ups. Thiago made the candles for an event in NYC held on February 9th. George helped with the event too, making some more cloth hearts, like the ones distributed in São Paulo and Khartoum. There were extra hearts and we mailed them to Puerto Rico with Valentines cards. Some also went to the cast of I, OF COURSE, WAS LIVID, a Love Positive Women-affiliated event at Housing Works bookstore. And, about 15 leftover candles go on to the VisualAIDS Women’s Empowerment Art Therapy Workshops. Thanks guys! xo, Todd]

Scrapbook, Love Positive Women 2020 (#LPW2020)

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*When I asked NYC-based artist Thiago Correia Gonçalves if he’d like to help make a Love Positive Women event, he proposed making Bobó (shrimp and cassava stew) for Yemanjá, the goddess for fishermen who is celebrated on February 2nd in Brasil. When I asked poet Brad Walrond to participate, I’d already seen a poem ‘Yemaya’ in his forthcoming book Every Where Alien. He offered his 1986, Yemaya and other poems. DIG Ferreira, Jesse Hawkes, Livia Alexander, George Ferraz and others helped out. George made another batch of cloth hearts for attendees to the February 9th, NYC event. In addition to Bobó, Thiago made dendê or palm oil-infused candles that each guest would light upon arrival and then take home as a keepsake from the night. Thiago let me help a little making the wax and filling the candles the night before … and puréeing the cassava. xo todd]

Daniel Santiago Salguero interviews Jacqueline Sanchez for Luciérnagas #LPW2020

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

DSS: Buenas tarde, Jaque, gracias por estar aquí y colaborar con esta entrevista. Te voy a hacer unas preguntas que ya conoces. Si no quieres responder o te sientes incómoda podemos parar y no hay problema.

¿Hace cuánto descubriste que tienes VIH? ¿Cómo ha sido todo desde entonces?

JS: Bueno, yo descubrí que tengo el virus del VIH desde noviembre del 2015. En un centro asistencial de mi barrio estaban en una campaña y me propusieron hacer la prueba, ahí me enteré. Para mi ha sido un poco complicado pero quiero salir adelante, surgir. Esto ha cambiado mi vida notablemente.

Interview with Cadu Oliveira on LGBTQIA+ organizing in São Paulo #LPW2020

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

LTIH: You have been involved with LGBT and HIV activism for some time now. How long have you been doing this in São Paulo?

CO: My trajectory with activism began from 1996 to 2007, in Jundiaí, with people who have lost their homes. At this point, matters such as HIV/Aids and drug abuse were already present in my life. It was in this scenario that I began to act in intersectional militancy, although it was still less centralized on LGBTs and, instead, oriented towards this population’s more structural conditions. However, I had already done research for LGBT news outlets, notedly for SuiGeneris Magazine.

Emanuel Brauna-Lechat interviews Momô de Oliveira #LPW2020

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

EBL: Momô, qual a sua avaliação sobre o cenário cinematográfico de um modo geral no Brasil?

MO: Vejo o cenário cinematográfico no Brasil com muitas incertezas, apesar de sabermos recentemente que para o ano de 2020 grandes nomes do STREAM irão injetar alguns milhões no setor, o que é muito positivo, não teremos, por outros lado, políticas públicas neste sentido e, naturalmente, a comunidade mais carente não será tocada por essas ações do setor privado. Ao meu ver, faltam mais projetos que envolvam a parcela menos favorecida da população.

Field of Action: curatorial interview b/w Kathleen Bitetti & Todd Lester (MAP Catalog 2013)

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Dora Não Cansou de Viver... [A film in the making]

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

[Emanuel Brauna-Lechat is a filmmaker from Maceió. ‘Dora Não Cansou de Viver…’ is a short film about many things, including access to healthcare and the precarity of daily life in Brasil. Manu needs some help finishing the film before April 7th, World Health Day 2020. One simple way to share holiday cheer (and some dough) is by giving to his crowdfunding campaign on Catarse, which supports the final film shoot in late February. xo, Todd]

The ideas for Partner Tiles

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The original idea for an iconic tile came from Saouf in Port Said. He imagined what it would be like to walk into a Cairo cafe and see an iconic tile on the back of a laptop. A tile that let him know (if he so desired) he could talk to this person about HIV. Later as the game took shape, Adham created a signature tile in the shape of an ‘all lines’ stylized heart. This heart carried the LUV logo at first and then became the template to share partner logos.

LUV game feedback from Bogotá + Luciérnagas

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

As I detail in Relatory Bogotá, I got to take part in the final piece of Luciérnagas with artist Daniel Santiago Salguero, offering me up-close access to a performance intervention in Bogotá’s Botanical Gardens on a Friday night with thousands of people around enjoying the cool night.

LUV game feedback from Grenoble + Ankh Association

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The first public presentation of Exposition Points de Vie, organized by Ankh Association and dedicated to people living with HIV in Egypt, took place on October 26th in Grenoble, France. The exhibition gave light to their experiences, joys, and difficulties. It involved the interactive game by Luv ‘Til it Hurts, a Falafel party, and Karaoke. The benefits went to حملة اعرف اكثر - Campagne ‘Pour en savoir plus’ - ‘Know more’ campaign .

Nic/Taha:
Hope the event in Colombia went well! I just wanted to send you a short feedback of our event in Grenoble yesterday. It went really well, a lot of people attended and they were all really interested by the project and the discussion was really interesting as well.

LUV game feedback from São Paulo + Somos Mais + AIDS Walk

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

About a month before the São Paulo AIDS Walk (now in its 3rd year), which was also on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2019, a group of positive folk and peers began meeting on Tuesday nights for a drink.

The idea of a Sarau came quickly after the name of the motley group, Somos… or Somos Mais. We are visual artists, community organizers, organization makers, filmmaker, bartender, health worker, fashion designer, poets, performers and couple who make a Centro club and art space called Um55. Our first Sarau Transante was on Saturday, November 30th at Um55, the day before World AIDS Day.

Wrap love in latex - Interview with Juan De La Mar

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

TL: Hi Juan,

If memory serves this is a line in your film, De Gris a POSITHIVO … ‘wrap love in latex?’. I think it is when you are walking in the streets of Bogotá (all wrapped in plastic wrap).

Juan, first, I really appreciate your film, and furthermore it was great to have it privately screened at the event at El Parche on October 30th in Bogotá. I also really enjoyed being a part of the Laboratorio Luciérnagas performance and intervention at the Botanical Gardens on October 25th. The whole trip was amazing for me, and reminded me why I’m making the Luv ’til it Hurts project.

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX’s Psyche Pictorial Part IV

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX’s Psyche Pictorial Part III

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

For all responses, see: MetaMorphineMachineFuriosaXXX

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX’s Psyche Pictorial Part II

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

For all responses, see: MetaMorphineMachineFuriosaXXX

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX's Psyche Pictorial Part I

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

For all responses, see: MetaMorphineMachineFuriosaXXX

Character Development à la Proust

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

[*I totally misunderstood what you wanted me to do with the ‘Proust Questionnaire’ and just answered the original. I get it now … you’re gonna ask me these questions in a new fresh way. Is that it? Go ahead, and we’ll link my new fresh answers here!]

hey ego sum frank (aka Dr. Prof. ego sum frank),

I want to commend you on your new pursuit. While I’ve not yet visited the offices of MetaMorphineMachineFuriosaXXX, I imagine it to be a hybrid pharmacy and yarn shop. I even heard you all make quilts there. But before I would normally digress, let me answer these 35 questions that Proust used to ‘size up’ a character. I would like to assume the character of the difficult artist. I suppose this is somehow the real me; I’ve been called it with great regularity since I began the Luv ’til it Hurts project just over a year ago. I am starting to believe it, and therefore I’m ready to answer this particular MMMFXXX inquest.

Think Twice Questions for Luv

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

My name is Todd Lanier Lester and I started the project, Luv ‘til it Hurts, a two-year project on HIV & stigma. The Think Twice Collective has agreed to join the LUV ‘coalition’ … I’ll explain what that is along the way, but just wanted to say thanks for being in an open-ended conversation with me. The last project I co-made, Lanchonete.org was a five-year investigation of the right to the city in São Paulo, and also took a collective form. I enjoy the pace and other characteristics of collective decision-making. freeDimensional, a 10-year project on free expression and artist shelter was the first of a three-project set that have spanned almost 20 years. What connects the three projects is that they are all durational, rights-focused and open to multiple stakeholders.

A Conversation with Artist Eric Rhein

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

New York based artist Eric Rhein speaks about his two exhibits, Lifelines, which
have been on view in his home state of Kentucky.
Lifelines is an exhibition at two locations in Lexington: at Institute 193 through
July 27 th , and the Lexington’s 21c Museum Hotel, through the end of August.
Todd Lanier Lester, of the Luv ‘til it Hurts campaign, asked Eric about the
shows—and his current and ongoing concerns.

Interview With Ankh Association

Sun, 14 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

TL: A mutual friend and queer activist in Cairo was helping me find a place to stay in Paris only a few days before my trip. I somehow end up sleeping on your couch in the suburbs of Paris.

You two make the Ankh Association that supports LGBTQQI and HIV+ folks in the Middle East through an arts advocacy campaign. Can I ask, how you got here? Back in Paris and making Ankh?

Eric Rhein: Lifelines

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Our partner Eric Rhein opens a beautiful exhibition at Institute 193, showing from June 19 - July 24. Don’t miss it!

See: Institute 193’s Facebook event

A discussion to be accountable to …

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A discussion to be accountable to …

_New generations of HIV/AIDS strategies
_6-8:30pm, Saturday, Oct. 27th

See video of the House of Zion debut performance that preceded the panel discussion.

Free and Open to the public

The Center
208 W 13 St
New York, NY 10011
212.620.7310

A discussion to be accountable to … is a part of Reimagine End of Life in NYC, a week of exploring big questions about life and death. The story goes that two artist projects focused on HIV—Humans as Hosts & Luv ‘til it Hurts—‘met’ in NYC, and Reimagine End of Life festival is the context for an intimate chat and hanging out with friends. Making new ones. Seeing a new piece by Pony Zion. It looks like a panel, but it’s more like a ‘discussion’… on stigma and HIV in different parts of the world. New networks. New strategies. Right now.

Luv Till It Hurts by Kairon Liu

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 18 from 6-8pm
Exhibition dates: October 18-28, 2018
Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 12-6pm

El Museo de Los Sures
120 South 1st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249
(Between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street)

Curatorial Advisor: Adam Zucker, Theodore (Ted) Kerr

Organized by Luv ’til it hurts, and collaborating with more than 150 others to co-create Reimagine End of Life 2018.

Today, medical treatments help people infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have prolonged and ordinary lives, as well as prevent further transmission, but they can never kill the virus hiding within. Despite these advances, moral condemnation and discrimination against the disease continue. The consequences of this stigma are mental illness and distress, often generating greater suffering than the physiological disease itself. Until a true cure is found, shame, insecurity, and trauma will continue to afflict those diagnosed with HIV until our societies and communities change the ways in which we consider and support them.