WORLD AIDS DAY

Coverage announcing our World AIDS Day program in Times Square, featuring Jenny Holzer’s first solo installation at the New York landmark in over 40 years, as well as our annual Reading of Names of New Yorkers Lost to AIDS.

The Guardian writes about cuts to HIV/AIDS funding and our June 5 candlelight vigil, rally and march, organized as a part of Seven Days in June with partners including ACT UP, Callen-Lorde, Citizen Action of New York, Defend Public Health-NY, Housing Works, Metro New York Health Care for All, Physicians for a National Health Program, PrEP4All, Rise and Resist, and Treatment Action Group (TAG).

Activists, including members of ACT UP and other groups, held a vigil and die-in on June 5 in observance of Long-Term HIV/AIDS Survivors Awareness Day and the 45th anniversary of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s first report on the epidemic. The event started at the NYC AIDS Memorial before folks marched to the Stonewall Inn for the die-in.

The New York City AIDS Memorial has revealed its schedule of Pride events for June. The memorial, which holds deep historical significance for the LGBTQIA+ community, is a notable stop on the NYC Pride March and an important site for remembrance and dialogue.

Hundreds of people brought candles to New York City’s historic Christopher Street on Friday afternoon for a vigil marking 45 years since the first reported cases of AIDS and protesting cuts to HIV care and public health programs.

NY1 reports on the candlelight vigil, rally, and march at the New York City AIDS Memorial on June 5, 2026, marking HIV/AIDS Long Term Survivors Awareness Day, the 45th anniversary of the first reports of AIDS, and the Seven Days in June national campaign against healthcare cuts.

The NYC AIDS Memorial is a site of tribute and quiet reflection, which is also often activated through contemporary art commissions, most recently three “virtual monuments” by artists Derek Fordjour, Egyptt LaBeija & Tourmaline, and Jacolby Satterwhite, all centering Black and Brown figures and history.

POZ Magazine does a recap of 2025 World AIDS Day programs around the country, including at the New York City AIDS Memorial.

New Yorkers marked World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 at several different locations, including the New York City AIDS Memorial, where folks gathered for a candlelight vigil, march, and Reading of the Names of individuals lost to AIDS.

On World AIDS Day, dozens gathered in the cold at the New York City AIDS Memorial in Greenwich Village, listening as names of the dead filled the park. NY1 speaks with Housing Works’ Valerie Reyes-Jimenez, who co-organizes the Reading of the Names for World AIDS Day at the New York City AIDS Memorial.

Dave Harper, the executive director of the New York City AIDS Memorial, joined Annika Pergament on “The Rush Hour” on Monday, December 1, to talk about events happening related to World AIDS Day and current threats to funding by the Trump administration.

A new order is stepping up in the West Village — but the spirit of defiant queer activism in the face of adversity lives on.  The NYC (dis)Order of Sisters, a chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, will, for the first time, lead the candlelit vigil at the 34th annual Out of the Darkness commemoration of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, succeeding longtime activist Brent Nicholson Earle.

Gay City News previews this year’s World AIDS Day acknowledgement events, including several at the New York City AIDS Memorial as well as other locations. All events will take place on December 1 in commemoration of World AIDS Day, and will feature a candlelight vigil, march, and more.

For the Voices series on Out.com, New York City AIDS Memorial Executive Director, Dave Harper, writes about our 2025 Pride Program, Legends of Drag. Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.

June is Pride Month, which means New York’s queer community is ready to party and—more than ever this year—stand up for their rights. At a time when the trans community is under attack across the country and even in our forward-looking city, displays of joy, resistance, and community are more essential than ever. Time Out NY mentions two New York City AIDS Memorial events: Legends of Drag and Kinfolk: Portals of Remembrance.

For the June issue of The Art Newspaper, New York City AIDS Memorial executive director Dave Harper penned an op-ed on the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ communities and culture. He writes: “Pride means more than a party, parade or performative allyship; it means committing to community care and remembrance…Organisations that preserve LGBTQ+ history, memory and culture must take on a powerful role: not just to remember, but to resist.”

Congratulations to New York City AIDS Memorial Board Members Ethan Geto and Tucker Woods for their inclusion on the inaugural City & State 2025 Pride Trailblazers list, which highlights the LGBTQ+ advocates and executives who are fighting back.

The New York City AIDS Memorial and the National AIDS Memorial are presenting this free screening of Matt Nadel’s short documentary about “AIDS profiteering” during the early ’90s, when dying patients sold their life-insurance policies for money up front to speculators who’d cash them out for their full value after a death.