Yabu Pushelberg has opened Don’t Stop. Stand Up! in New York City, presenting a multi-week exhibition and cultural programming series on LGBTQIA+ identity, HIV activism and community response. George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg founded the international creative design studio in 1980, and the studio now works from New York and Toronto. For this project, Yabu Pushelberg partners with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, known as UNAIDS.
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The exhibition runs from June 19 to July 18 at Yabu Pushelberg’s New York studio and marks the studio’s first collaboration with the United Nations. Don’t Stop. Stand Up! uses photography, archival works, cultural artifacts, conversation and community gathering to trace queer identity from the sexual liberation era, through the AIDS epidemic, to the current global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
The exhibition opened ahead of the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, which took place on June 22 and 23. The project reminds audiences that AIDS still demands urgent action, and that public engagement, social mobilization and freedom from stigma and discrimination remain essential to ending the epidemic. During its month-long run, Yabu Pushelberg connects with New York audiences in culture, design, fashion, media and advocacy.
Don’t Stop. Stand Up! profiles activists and communities who shaped New York City’s queer visibility, responded to the early devastation of AIDS, and built forms of care, art and organizing during the crisis. The exhibition brings together several sections. Andy, Candy, and Me draws from Tony Mansfield’s personal archive, with photographs of Andy Warhol, Candy Darling and members of The Factory. The photographer remains unknown.
AIDS Is Not Over presents panels from the US AIDS Memorial Quilt and historic videos from the UNAIDS archives. AIDS at The New School: What is Remembered? examines the university’s history of art-making, education and care during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s. Stan Walden, a New School alum, curates the section and places historical artifacts alongside contemporary perspectives. Your Shame Bores Me brings in work by queer artist and photographer Christopher Sherman, who explores contemporary queer identity, self-expression and today’s LGBTQIA+ reawakening.
George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg frame the exhibition as a call for creative and professional communities to use their influence in the fight to end AIDS. Vinay Saldanha, Director of the UNAIDS New York Office, also stresses the need for renewed action from governments and communities during Don’t Stop. Stand Up!
The Salon Series will guide public engagement during the exhibition. Yabu Pushelberg uses the ongoing platform for invite-only talks, panels and gatherings at its New York and Toronto locations. The series brings together voices from design, art, fashion, activism and public life to discuss ideas shaping contemporary culture.
The programming began on June 18 with an exclusive preview and inaugural Salon conversation featuring Vinay Saldanha, UNAIDS Senior Advisor Regan Hofmann and Glenn Pushelberg. The discussion examined progress in the global HIV response and addressed the continued impact of HIV among queer communities, women, children and Indigenous Peoples.
Additional programming includes a MAN OF PARTS reception marking the close of the UNGA High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, welcoming leaders from the UN, governments and creative communities. Christopher Sherman hosts a live event with 15 readings from guest contributors, using short stories, photography and video art to examine sex and sexuality. The HIV & The Community panel connects early AIDS activism with current dialogue around U=U, PrEP and queer leadership. Tribù and West Out East host a private cocktail reception supporting Rainbow Railroad, an international nonprofit that helps LGBTQI+ people facing violence and oppression.
Don’t Stop. Stand Up! remains open to the public through July 18, Tuesday through Saturday, 12 PM to 7 PM, at Yabu Pushelberg’s 66 White Street gallery in Tribeca.
