AIDS Awareness Mural to be Dedicated on Saturday

In honor of National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (May 18), artists, residents, business owners and politicians will gather for a ceremony to dedicate a 15 x 30 feet community mural entitled “Austin is Doing Something (A.I.D.S.)” designed by Carla Carr. The mural was inspired by With Me Comes A Cure, an awareness campaign of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) designed primarily to address the growing HIV epidemic among African Americans and stress the importance of developing an AIDS vaccine.

Read more at ChicagoTribune.com: “Austin mural sends message”

After brief remarks, residents and politicians will symbolically finish the mural by filling in the last patch of blue paint. Vocalist Maggie Brown and hip-hop trio Bin Laden Blowin’ Up (BBU) will perform.

 “Austin is Doing Something” will be the centerpiece of a planned community garden honoring longtime activists Ed Bailey and Leola Spann that Austin residents are planning with assistance from NeighborSpace, a public land trust.