Anya Gallaccio has won the commission to create The AIDS Memorial in London, AIDS Memory UK announces. The artist will receive a fund of £130,000 from the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm towards the realisation of the memorial.
Located on Store Street in Fitzrovia, the memorial will take the form of a felled tree, from which rings extracted from the core will be displayed upright nearby. The resulting hollow space invites visitors to interact and engage with the memorial and will serve as a space for remembrance and solidarity.
Gallaccio is a British artist based between London and San Diego, USA. Her site-specific installations often employ organic materials and transform over time. The memorial is her first permanent public commission in London.
AIDS Memory UK (AMUK) aims to raise awareness of the continuing impact of HIV/AIDS, which has disproportionately affected gay/bisexual men, Black African communities, the bleeding disorders community and injecting drug users.
