Activist Lisa D. Cumbey (left), sister of artist J. Alan Cumbey, who died of AIDS, and Diversity Richmond Deputy Director Rodney Lofton are part of the “Voices From Richmond’s Hidden Epidemic” exhibition at The Valentine, on view from Jan. 23 to May 25. (Photos by Michael Simon)
The continued persistence and pervasiveness of HIV/AIDS is the subject of “Voices From Richmond’s Hidden Epidemic,” an exhibition running from Jan. 23 to May 25 at The Valentine. In it, 30 individuals — those with the illness and those who treat or have cared for them — are given expression, accompanied by large-format black-and-white portraits by Michael Simon. The narratives were collected by University of Richmond professors Laura Browder and Patricia Herrera. The project follows The Valentine’s “Pandemic” exhibition, which covered the history of mass illness in the city, from 19th-century plagues such as yellow fever and cholera to the Great Influenza of 1918-19 and HIV/AIDS in the 1980s-90s. In the Richmond region today, some 5,000 people are living with the disease.
Valentine archival curator Meg Hughes explains the origin of “Voices”: “This came about because of the oral histories collected by Browder and Elizabeth Outka for ‘Pandemic,’ ” she says. “Rather than do the HIV/AIDS component ourselves, we approached Laura and Patricia, and they eagerly accepted. In this way, it blossomed into its own project.”
Browder further elaborates, “We wanted to bring together these 30 voices to provide a kaleidoscopic view of the disease’s history here and bring attention to a wider public. Some were affected in the 1980s. We have medical providers and activists who provide a wider picture of how HIV/AIDS has affected Richmond.” One of those whose voice is heard is LGBTQ activist Guy Kinman, whose interview took place in hospice. He died Sept. 17, 2018, at age 100 — “and eight months,” Browder adds.
Rather than use audio recordings, text plaques by the portraits share the subjects’ personal accounts. This choice may give viewers the mental space to absorb what they’re learning and to hear those voices their own way.
“Richmond has a huge HIV problem that very few people in the city are aware of if they’re not directly affected by it,” Herrera says. The region is 19th among the nation’s cities for new infections.
Sobering and surprising statistics abound: On a national level, people have a 1 in 99 chance of contracting HIV. But if you are a black man who has black male sexual partners, that is increased to a 50% chance. “Here in Richmond, a black woman is 14 times more likely [than a woman of another race] to contract HIV,” Browder says. “More than a quarter of people in Richmond with HIV are women.” One woman in St. Paul’s Baptist Church’s HIV support group learned just last year that she carries the illness, and she’s 70, Herrera says. Seniors are among the growing number of those with the virus. People in the older demographic grew up not thinking about condoms. “There are grandmothers who are HIV positive,” Herrera says.
Another feature of the exhibition is cascading books on large panels created by students and members of the Nia Community Development Corporation advisory board under the guidance of book artist Jen Thomas. The books address transformation within those who are affected by HIV/AIDS; how its presence in their lives changes relationships, their faith and activism; and what they expect of their personal legacy.
The persistence of HIV in Richmond is symptomatic of greater issues. The concentration of poverty makes the virus yet another symptom of the economic divide along with housing, wealth, transportation, education — and health care.
Browder and Herrera hope that “Voices From Richmond’s Hidden Epidemic” will inform those whose awareness of the disease is limited by misperception.
Browder cites one woman in the group that made the cascading books who wants to prevent more HIV infections from taking place. Participants in activism are engaged and changed by their involvement. “They’re lobbying state legislatures, attending conferences, seeing others like themselves who have HIV,” Browder says. “It’s very powerful.”
