The Valentine’s Newest Exhibition Reveals Untold Stories from Richmond’s AIDS Epidemic

By Jonah Schuhart
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Originally posted in RVA Mag

A new exhibition from the Valentine helps bring stories from Richmond survivors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic into the public eye.

The Valentine latest exhibition opened on Thursday, January 23. Entitled “Voices from Richmond’s Hidden Epidemic,” it displays black-and-white portraits of 30 different HIV/AIDS survivors in Richmond, paired with personal stories detailing their experiences living with the disease. 

Each of the subjects for the exhibition were interviewed by University of Richmond professors Patricia Herrera and Laura Browder. The pictures were taken by photographer Michael Simon.

Exhibition Photo by Jonah Schuhart

“People in this exhibition range from people who are much, much older…to much younger people who are still experiencing the epidemic today,” said Browder.

Individuals displayed in the exhibition vary by more than just age, though. The exhibition shares unique stories from members of the LGBTQ community, victims of sexual assault, and undocumented immigrants, among others. Subjects are divided into different groups, such as “Relationships” and “Secrecy/Openness,” according to the ways that HIV/AIDS affected their lives.  

Despite the various lives and experiences of each subject, each portrait in the exhibition is shot exactly the same way — a front-facing, black-and-white close-up.

“I wanted to give everybody, no matter who they were… the same chance visually,” said Simon. “I wanted to strip away context… I wanted people to meet the portrait and give it a fair shot.”

However, the facial expression of each portrait was left up to the subject, resulting in a wide array of emotional tones across the pictures.