Downtown Phoenix has another new mural. This one, along Central Avenue, symbolizes HIV awareness and remembrance. It’s part of the city’s participation in an international effort to reduce new diagnoses as much as possible.
City officials and local advocates for HIV awareness came together Wednesday morning to add the final touches, honoring those lost to the endemic it seeks to both end and destigmatize.
From patients to health care providers and grieving loved ones, Jake Early says he and his fellow artist, Quinn Murphy, drew inspiration from people they interviewed in preparation for designing this piece.
He said every good mural has a message. And on ending HIV, this one says: “You have to take care of it. But it's not a death sentence anymore, and there's joy.”
The result is the word love in giant red letters alongside the faces and silhouettes of what Early describes as regular people.
“They may or may not be positive,” explained Early. “We don't know, because they're living a normal life.”
Early said that given the recent 20% rise in new diagnoses throughout the state, it’s a conversation we can’t afford not to have.
“The uptick in cases is because people don't know what it is,” he said. “They think it's over.”
The huge, rainbow-colored mural covers the side of the Parsons Center for Health and Wellness, which houses the Valley’s largest HIV tester, Prisma Community Care.
“Driving into my building every morning, this is just that reminder that, no, I'm fighting the fight and there are other people arm and arm with me,” said Prisma’s executive director, Jessyca Leach. “one-n-ten is going through the same thing — any organization that supports marginalized communities right now is feeling this pain. And so hopefully anyone who comes by who's doing that work can see this, too.”
Leach added that it’s also an important cue to look back on how hard-fought access to treatment options has been.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said on the east end, the mural will feature a QR code that leads to information about the Fast Track Cities initiative.
“We are hoping to use this as a great educational tool for our community,” Gallego said. “It comes at a very important time. The federal government has taken down websites that provide public health information about HIV and AIDS. We at the city of Phoenix are stepping up. We want to fill that information gap.”
The mural, said Gallego, is a visual representation of the city doubling down on its commitment to bringing the number of new cases to zero by 2030.
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