Positive East collaborates with 41 artists to design limited edition t-shirts celebrating the visual arts’ historic and ongoing contributions to HIV activism and to raise essential funding for the charity.

Positive East is proud to relaunch our acclaimed limited-edition digital t-shirt shop featuring the artwork of 40 local and international artists, including Wolfgang Tillmans, Sunil Gupta, Wednesday Holmes, Kai Isaiah Jamal, Polari Press and many more – to raise awareness of, and funding for our essential HIV support services. 

For every tee sold, Positive East is able to provide two free HIV tests to the community.

Back in the summer of 2020, Positive East approached 14 artists, both local and international, whose works are rooted in tackling social injustice, championing LGBTQ+ equality and fighting HIV stigma, to create or choose an image that they felt represented the mission of the Charity.

Positive East is thrilled to be reopening the shop and selling the previous selection alongside 23 new t-shirts designed by queer artists. All artworks included are original commissions or were especially selected for this project, and include spoken word, photography, photomontage, illustration, graphic design and painting.

Contributing artists include:

AA Bronson/General Idea, ADORN THE COMMON, Alex HB Designs, Alex Mein, Kai Isaiah Jamal, Ari Wisner, Artist Named Nobody, Ben Saunders, Boe Studios, Daddy Street Fox , Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Ed Firth, Erin Aniker, Fewix, Hatty Carman, Hoarserama, Irena Grazuliene, Jack Hughes, Jaq Spooky, John Walter, David Gwinnutt, Joy Yamusangie, keernas, Lauren Hurrell, Lily Deason, Linder, Lubaina Himid, ManosQueer, Marblehead, Miss Ruby V, Phoebe Calypso, Polari Press, RCG Wears, Shaven Raven Designs, Sunil Gupta, Wednesday Holmes, Wolfgang Tillmans.

All tees are printed ethically (Fare Ware, GOTS, Vegan) and the shop will remain open until 30^th August. Each tee will retail for £30 available via https://positiveeastpopup.org.uk/collections/all

100% of proceeds will remain with Positive East.

In addition to raising essential funding for the Charity, the project seeks to explore the intersection between HIV activism and the visual arts and how artistic expression has helped shape the cultural and political response to HIV, from the pandemic’s origins in 1981 right up to today.  During this period, artists’ responses to HIV have been diverse – reflecting the experiences of people and communities living with HIV, both intimate and collective.  Creative and activist engagements with HIV have highlighted and strengthened urgent political and social struggles and as prevention and treatment developed, to celebrating advancements and hope.

“Through this collaborative project, we wish to make a small but meaningful contribution to the dialogue between HIV and cultural expression, while helping to raise awareness of our mission to improve the quality of life of individuals and communities affected by HIV. The artists involved in this project all reflect the ethos of our charity and the diversity of the communities we support.” – Mark Santos, Director of Positive East

YASS got in touch with Hugh Wyld (Fundraising officer/HIV Voices Director) and Ian Montgomery (Head of Fundraising and Communications) and this is what we talked about.

How did you manage to collaborate with so many amazing queer artists for the design of the limited edition t-shirts that celebrate the ongoing contributions to HIV activism?

We are very grateful to the all the contributing artists. We purposely sought to engage with artists whose work is rooted in tackling social injustice and HIV stigma, in hopes they would understand the importance of Positive East and this specific project.  The project was also informed and guided by people who worked within the arts (from gallerists to curators) – allowing it to be as thoughtful as possible. The project isn’t solely about selling t-shirts, but for us to create an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing visual narrative of HIV and artistic expression. Through this we were honoured to work with both established and emerging artists, from those whose works hangs in the Tate and who have received Turner prizes, to those who are newer to their practice.

How did you come up with the idea of reopening your pop up t-shirt fundraising campaign?

In 2020 the project was such an exciting moment for the charity and was an important way for us raise essential funds in the shadow of another global pandemic, COVID19. Today we very much wanted to bring the project back to reflect our work as a charity now in 2023 and to tie it in with our annual queer art/makers market, Q-MART.  We asked the contributing artists to design a tee they felt reflected the mission of the charity which would form part of Q-MART 2023. Through this we received 23 brilliant new contributions, all reflecting the ethos Positive East, allowing the project to act as a stunning artistic archive. 

You are doing an excellent job at creating awareness and visibility and fighting HIV stigma. How does this campaign support your goals?

The project’s impact on our work is immeasurable.  The project went global with orders coming in from around the world from Sao Paulo to Tokyo. This created an incredible opportunity for us to engage with a new audience, raising awareness of our work and the need to continue tackling HIV stigma on a global scale.  

The initial project also allowed for Positive East to engage with a new audience through the global press. GQ, Show Studio, i-D, Hype Beast, Art Newspaper were just a few of the outlets that highlighted the 2020 project.  This readership – who may not engage with HIV on a daily basis – was able to read our mission statement, engage with our work and hopefully buy a t-shirt, connecting more people with this cause via creative means. It made sense for us that these tees were items of artistic and historic value on their own. That on an aesthetic level people would want to wear them, alongside generating greater awareness.

How can you get the word out there and open the dialogue between HIV and cultural expression?

The arts have always played a vital role in the history of HIV – from pop music and film to the visual arts. This project very much wanted to explore this intersection, helping to demonstrate how artistic expression can shape the cultural and political response to HIV. Creative engagements with HIV have highlighted and strengthened urgent political and social struggles and – as prevention and treatment developed – celebrating advancements and hope.

The brief we sent to the artists reflects this history.  The brief was very open, to create an image they feel reflects the mission of the charity – to improve the quality of life of communities affected by HIV. This project now has 41 anti HIV stigma images, which help to non verbally communicate our work, tying in to a long standing artistic tradition. 

What has been the biggest achievement of Positive East and what do you feel most proud of?

One of our biggest achievements is one that happens annually – that every year we support over 3,000 people to either live well and empowered with HIV or to have the tools and resources to remain HIV negative through HIV testing and HIV prevention methods.  Every interaction we have with someone from the community is a great source of pride for the charity.   

What is your focus at the moment and what are your future plans?

In addition to always focusing on the holistic needs of all those living with HIV, we are currently focusing more specifically on HIV prevention and PrEP access amongst communities historically left behind – particularly women and women of black African descent.  We are currently delivering two programmes to tackle this inequality – our ‘Women 4 Women’ project and our ‘Project Community’ initiative with City and Hackney. Both projects seek to understand the barriers in HIV prevention, PrEP access and good sexual health, and develop resources and projects that address this. 

These two projects will help us make a significant contribution to the UK HIV sector goal to achieve zero new HIV transmission by 2030. We can only do this if we reach everyone, particularly those who are historically marginalised within health and social care. This has led to specific communities becoming overrepresented in HIV statistics of which we seek to address and correct.  

T-shirts available to buy via pop-up shop’s website

Positive East has been at the forefront of HIV service and care for over 30 years; supporting people from point of HIV diagnoses to longer term care. Guided by our mission – to improve the quality of life of individuals and communities affected by HIV – we have developed a holistic range of health and well-being programmes, from counselling, peer support and information and advice to HIV testing and HIV prevention outreach.  Annually, we provide direct support to 4,000 people through our programmes and HIV testing.