Art
Through Positive Eyes: Exhibition
Through Positive Eyes is a new exhibition which builds on the work of South African photographer Gideon Mendel, harnessing the power of the arts to banish HIV stigma, which is on at the Durban Art Gallery to coincide with AIDS2016.
Exhibition at Durban Art Gallery for AIDS2016
A global exhibition to banish HIV stigma
Jul. 17 –Sep. 30, 2016
Award-winning photographer Gideon Mendel and UCLA professor David Gere have, for the last 10 years, been building Through Positive Eyes, a participatory photography project in which people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) share their stories in the form of photos, video, and narrative. Through Positive Eyes features over 100 photographs, an array of commissioned two-dimensional and sculptural works, and live storytelling documenting the realities of individuals living with HIV across the globe.
The exhibition opens at the Durban Art Gallery on July 17 coinciding with AIDS2016: the international Aids Conference taking place in Durban. In the eighteen months following the Durban opening, the exhibition will travel to the Adler Museum of Medicine at Wits University, Johannesburg (November 1-December 31, 2016), UNISA Gallery in Pretoria (January 15-March 1, 2017), and the Iziko Slave Lodge in Cape Town (April 1-December 31, 2017). Thereafter, it is slated to travel to venues in Europe and the United States.
Through Positive Eyes began as a series of photographic workshops co-directed by award-winning photo artist Gideon Mendel and the Art & Global Health Center of the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA). The exhibition in its current form has been curated by David Gere (Los Angeles), Stan Pressner (New York) and Carol Brown (Durban).
In his 2003 book, Through Positive Eyes Mendel developed a method for interlacing images of People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) with first-person accounts, a potent combination that served to reduce the irrational stigma surrounding HIV. Through Positive Eyes takes Mendel’s image-and-text concept a step further, by putting cameras into the hands of the HIV-positive people themselves, so that they are encouraged to shape their own visual narratives and accompanying stories. The resulting work is especially raw and honest, revealing the deepest thoughts and feelings of PLWHA around the world.
The goal of Through Positive Eyes workshops is to empower HIV-positive people to pursue their own artistic voice and to develop their own individual narratives. Themes in the show include the “Burden of Stigma,” “Alive and Well,” “What Makes Me Laugh,” and “Stories My Body Tells.” Since 2007, 122 HIV-positive people in nine major cities have taken part in this unique initiative, contributing to an archive of over 120,000 photographs, thousands of hours of video footage, hundreds of photo-essays, and a wide array of mini-documentaries, all available online at www.ThroughPositiveEyes.org. Workshop locations include Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Mumbai, Bangkok, Port-au-Prince, and London. A group of HIV-positive people from the Durban area is being convened by the AIDS Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) just prior to the opening at Durban Art Gallery. This group of Durban “Artivists”— artist-activists — will share their stories live in the galleries throughout the run of the exhibition, in a theatrical environment created by New York artist Stan Pressner.
Through Positive Eyes
Other Artivists contributing works to the exhibition include Adriana Bertini (Brazil), Mandisa Dlamini (South Africa), Daniel Goldstein (United States), Ross Levinson (United States), Gordon Mundie (United Kingdom), and Parthiv Shah (India).
Through Positive Eyes and the activities of the UCLA Art & Global Health Center are made possible through the generous support of the Herb Ritts Foundation. Additional funding provided by the Electronic Theatre Controls, Ford Foundation, Teiger Foundation, UNAIDS, UCLA AIDS Institute, Gere Foundation, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
About Gideon Mendel:
Gideon Mendel is a London-based South African photographer and AIDS activist who has been chronicling HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1993. Since then his groundbreaking work on HIV and on climate change has been widely recognized, most recently with the inaugural Pollock Prize for Creativity from the Krasner-Pollock Foundation.
About the UCLA Art & Global Health Center:
The UCLA Art & Global Health Center in Los Angeles is an art-and-health think tank specializing in reinventing sexual health education, devising new methods for HIV stigma reduction, reinforcing human empowerment, and catalyzing behavior change.
UCLA Art & Global Health Center:
120 Westwood Plaza, Suite 188, Los Angeles, CA 90095
About Through Positive Eyes:
Through Positive Eyes and the activities of the UCLA Art & Global Health Center are made possible through the generous support of the Herb Ritts Foundation. Additional funding provided by the Electronic Theatre Controls, Ford Foundation, Teiger Foundation, UNAIDS, UCLA AIDS Institute, Gere Foundation, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Through Positive Eyes Exhibition Information:
Where: Durban Art Gallery
When: Jul. 17, 2016–Sep. 30, 2016 Opening reception: July 17, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Monday – Saturday 8:30am – 4:00pm
Sunday 11am – 4:00pm
Special extended hours July 18-22 8:30am-6:30pm
July 18-22 special live performances by Drama for Life at 11AM, 12PM , 1PM and 5PM
Smith Street, 2nd Floor Smith Street, City Hall, Durban, 4001, South Africa
Phone: +27 31 311 2264
Author: Durbanite
Author: Carla Wynne
Just a 30something plant mom, nature enthusiast and happy wife, adventuring through Durbs and life!🌻🌿🤍✨
Durban comedy favourites Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert-McIlroy return to The Rhumbelow Theatre, in Umbilo this Valentines weekend with their new musical comedy – BUMP & GRIND, a high-energy musical sketch comedy that delivers a riotous mix of song, dance, quick-fire character comedy and heart.
Expect new characters, old favourites, and a soundtrack packed with thumping hits as McIlroy and Bobbert once again deliver their trademark blend of side-splitting humour, larger-than-life personalities, and musical mayhem!
Back by popular demand are Bruce and Charmaine as unforgettable Elvis impersonators, Dot and Max settling into the chaos of retirement village life, and everyone’s favourite philosopher of the people, Dr Veejay, offering his “words of wisdom.” Add in a host of hilarious new faces, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for Valentines fun!
Directed and choreographed by the sensational Daisy Spencer, Bump and Grind promises to keep audiences on their feet — or rolling in the aisles — with laughter, music, and McIlroy & Bobbert’s unbeatable comic chemistry.
- Venue: The Rhumbelow Theatre, Umbilo
- Dates: Friday 13 & Saturday 14 Feb – 7:30pm (doors open 6pm) | Sunday 15 Feb 2026 – 2pm (doors open 12.30pm)
- Tickets: From R180pp
- Bookings: Webtickets
Other Info to Note:
- Picnic baskets welcome
- Food and Drink on sale at the venue
- Full bar available (no alcohol may be brought onto the premises)
- Limited secure parking available
- All seats are allocated by the theatre management
- Tables seat 8
- Wheelchair friendly venue – contact 082 499 8636 to make arrangements
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Author: Carla Wynne
Just a 30something plant mom, nature enthusiast and happy wife, adventuring through Durbs and life!🌻🌿🤍✨
Durban comedy favourites Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert-McIlroy return to Talloula with their new musical comedy – BUMP & GRIND, a high-energy musical sketch comedy that delivers a riotous mix of song, dance, quick-fire character comedy and heart. Created under the direction and choreography of Daisy Spencer, the show has already delighted audiences this festive season with its trademark MacBob mayhem and polish.
Described by Billy Suter as “a sparkly cracker of song, dance and off-the-wall humour,” BUMP & GRIND is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud theatrical experience. The show tumbles through a helter-skelter parade of characters — from fan favourites Bruce and Charmaine, as Elvis impersonators, pensioners Beatrice and Max, and super-sage Dr Veejay, to bold new creations including AI androids, Latin dance sensations and an Irish preacher with stand-up ambitions.
The music includes numbers from Talking Heads, Lady Gaga, Elvis, The Beatles, Whitney Houston and a climactic medley of ’80s chart hits.
“It’s a vibe… Aaron and Lisa’s talent and skill lie in their seemingly effortless transformations from one character to another — and making every dance hit and ballad that character’s own!” Shannon Kenny (ArtSmart)
With broad family appeal, high energy and a proven track record of sold-out runs, don’t miss BUMP & GRIND at Talloula at the end of January!
Duration of Show: 2 Acts of 40 minutes each with a 20 minute interval
Food and Drink on sale at the venue.
Full bar available
Picnic baskets welcome
- Venue: Talloula, Bothas Hill
- Dates: Friday 30 Jan & Saturday 31 Jan – 7pm (doors open 6pm) | Sunday 1 Feb 2026 – 2pm (doors open 12.30pm)
- Tickets: R220pp
- Bookings: Webtickets or Rowena on 082 304 6495 (for meal options and orders)
WIN A TABLE OF 10 TICKETS HERE!!
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Author: Carla Wynne
Just a 30something plant mom, nature enthusiast and happy wife, adventuring through Durbs and life!🌻🌿🤍✨
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