Buy Paintings celebrating the lives of PLWHA, Contribute to PLWHA Fund

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

With a view to creating a new social reality that is free of stigma and

discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, creating new icons and

metaphors that break existing stereotypes and also moblising resources for a

fund to support the PLWHA in the Asia Pacific region, UNDP Regional HIV and

Development Programme, in partnership with Sahara India Pariwar, a leading

Indian corporate group; the Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS and

The Village Gallery, New Delhi, has launched a national campaign by leading

artists of India.

Titled, " Celebration of Life, " this campaign began with an art camp in which 21

leading Indian artists painted on themes that celebrate the lives of people

living with HIV/AIDS. Four persons living with HIV/AIDS, including two women,

shared their canvasses and brushes resulting in a five collaborative works.

The camp resulted in 25 brilliant canvasses and two sculptures which were

unveiled in Delhi on December 19. Later five leading artists contributed their

paintings to the campaign.

You may kindly see the paintings and the expressions of the artists at

www.youandaids.org/Paintings

<http://www.youandaids.org/Paintings%20on%20HIV/index.asp> on

HIV/index.asp

We would greatly appreciate your support in promoting the sale of these

paintings. One can place the order for the paintings online at the above link.

Please note that your support will be of immense value to the PLWHA movement in

the region because substantial part of the sale proceeds of the paintings will

go towards a fund to support PLWHA in the Asia Pacific region.

A printed catalogue of the paintings can be made available on request. A PDF

copy of the catalogue can be downloaded at

www.youandaids.org/unfiles/celebrationoflife.pdf

Kindly send this posting to as many people as possible so that the campaign has

a wider impact and philanthropists and art lovers can buy the paintings to

support the cause.

For more information, please contact G. Pramod Kumar, Senior Advocacy

and Communications Officer (pramod.kumar@...) or Afsana Cherian,

Programme Associate (afsana.cherian@...).

Sonam Yangchen Rana

Senior Adviser on HIV/AIDS for Asia-Pacific and Programme Coordinator

Regional HIV and Development Programme for South and Northeast Asia UNDP

55, Lodi Estate, Post Box No.3059, New Delhi-110003, India Tel:(91 11)

24620618, 24632339, 24632602 FAX:(91 11)24631647, 24633191

Website: http://www.hivandevelopment.org/

Also visit http://www.youandaids.org/ -The HIV/AIDS Portal for Asia