World AIDS Day
Shrouding of Ruby Slippers by DeWayne Sessions
in observance of Day Without Art
Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.
Salt Lake City & County Building
451 S. State Street

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS HONOR THOSE LOST TO AIDS
BY SHROWDING ARTWORK ON WORLD AIDS DAY

In observance of Day Without Art, which is observed as part of World AIDS Day, three local organizations, the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll, Art Access/VSA Utah and the Utah Department of Health will partner in honoring those artists lost to AIDS. The Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office will shroud local artist DeWayne Sessions’ Ruby Slippers on World AIDS Day, December 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the Salt Lake City & County Building located at 451 S. State Street. City council member Jill Remington-Love will narrate the event.

The Mayor’s event, on December 1 at the City & County Building, will feature speakers, performances, the signing of a joint resolution and ceremonial lighting of City Hall in red. Members of the community are encouraged to wear red throughout the day to show support and help the effort to raise AIDS awareness.The 21st Annual Day Without Art, which is being observed in Salt Lake City on Friday December 2 during Gallery Stroll, 6 to 9 p.m., is a response by local artists, galleries, activists, and community groups to the increasing loss of lives and art due to HIV/AIDS. Gallery Stroll participants each shroud pieces of art.

Day Without Art is associated with World AIDS Day, a day of awareness about HIV/AIDS and it’sglobal and local impact. Day Without Art began in 1989 as the national day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis. To make the public aware that AIDS can touch everyone and inspire positive action, some eight hundred US art and AIDS groups participated in the first Day Without Art by shutting down museums, sending staff to volunteer at AIDS services, or sponsoring special exhibitions of work about AIDS. Since then, Day Without Art has grown into a collaborative project in which an estimated 8,000 museums, galleries, art centers, AIDS Service Organizations, libraries, high schools and colleges take part on both the national and international levels.

For more information on Day Without Art, please contact Gallery Stroll at (801) 870-0956 or info@gallerystroll.org. For information on World AIDS Day and associated events, please call the Salt Lake City Mayor’s office at (801) 535-7928. Image courtesy of the family of DeWayne Sessions.

The Salt Lake Gallery Stroll is pleased to sponsor World AIDS Day Events. For a link to the Salt Lake Mayor's Office please click here.