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A message from the director Since joining the staff of the Alliance for the Arts as Director of the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, I have spent a great deal of time considering both the foundation upon which the Estate Project is built and its trajectory into the 21st Century. It is clear that the past insightful management of the project has established a model for the preservation of works of art produced by artists who have died or are living with HIV/AIDS. The programs have steadily grown and the scope of the project continues to expand to include all the arts, as well as related and collateral fields. An enormous amount has been accomplished. In his final statement as director, Patrick Moore succinctly summarized the highlights of the Estate Project. Now the challenge is to shepherd the project into its second decade with circumspection that preserves both the integrity and the spirit with which it was infused during its first ten years. As the project and AIDS epidemic both move into the new century, the need to preserve works of art that are in danger of being lost remains very real. The mission of the Estate Project remains the same, we will continue to identify, document, preserve, and make a record of works created by artists with HIV/AIDS. As the new director, the task with which I am faced is the completion of existing projects and the conceptualization of new initiatives within the changing demographics of AIDS. Having recently successfully met a matching grant from New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs, we have launched the Music Archive Project. This project is an ambitious effort to identify composers who have died or are living with HIV/AIDS and, in cooperation with the New York Public Library, submit documentation of their works and careers to the library's permanent archives. The dance program was recently awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which will begin to expand this research beyond the dance communities of New York and Los Angeles. Work in the areas of video and film is on going. However, similar projects in the fields of literature, fashion, design, architecture, and theater need to be initiated and pushed forward. June 2001 marked the twentieth anniversary of the first reported cases of AIDS in the United States. The role the Estate Project plays in the documentation of the far reaching effects of AIDS upon American society and culture remains as critical as it was at the project's founding in 1991. This role would not be diminished even if a cure were in sight. There is a great deal to do, including the gradual "migration" of more such invaluable data into an electronic format. The Virtual Collection has established a benchmark; free access to this growing body of information through the Esate Project web site is critical to our mission.
Clayton Kirking
Alliance for the Arts |