One day this kid will get larger
Curated by Danny Orendorff
DePaul Art Museum (Chicago, IL)
January 26 – April 2, 2017

Artists: Jun Bae, Samantha Box, Vincent Chevalier, Demian DinéYazhi’, Angela Davis Fegan, Jacquelyn Carmen Guerrero, Katja Heinemann, Chaplain Christopher Jones, Lenn Keller, Shan Kelley, Theodore Kerr, Nancer LeMoins, Tiona McClodden, Ivan Monforte, My Barbarian, Rashaad Newsome, Niknaz, Aay Preston-Myint, LJ Roberts, Oli Rodriguez, Darling Shear, Shawn Torres, Chris Vargas, David Wojnarowicz, and Matt Wolf.

Publication featuring contributions by Demian DinéYazhi’, Rami George, Katja Heinemann, Lenn Keller, Shan Kelley, and Charles Ryan Long.

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About the Exhibition
The ongoing HIV and AIDS crisis has irrevocably shaped all of our contemporary experiences of life, sex, love, and power in North America. Many artists and activists working today, especially those born in the 1970s or after, have never known a world without HIV/AIDS and have negotiated many of the most intimate elements of their lives (their gender, race, sexuality, politics, and faith) within perplexing and often violent social contexts conditioned by fear, stigma, mis-information, poverty, and government neglect.

Featuring artwork by over twenty artists working in North America, most (though not all) of whom were either born or came-of-age during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, One day this kid will get larger is an exhibition about HIV and AIDS organized around the theme of youth. Named in tribute to an iconic untitled artwork by AIDS artist and activist David Wojnarowicz, this exhibition serves as a contemporary, present-day companion to the traveling and historical survey exhibition Art AIDS America, simultaneously on view through April 2 at the Alphawood Gallery.

To provide structure, the works in One day this kid will get larger are loosely grouped together by the sub-themes of Childhoods, Educations, and Nightlifes/Pop Cultures, each representing a moment, manner, or rite of passage during which HIV/AIDS may become legible in a young person’s life. The exhibition also includes a small zine library dedicated to queer or alternative forms of self-care practiced by those navigating safety, risk, and choice in their sexual health and relationships today.

As of 2014, young people (ages 13-24) account for more than 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses each year. The majority of new infections are experienced by young, gay or bisexual-identified black and Latino men, indicating how the intersecting factors of institutionalized racism and homophobia in our health and education systems only exacerbate vulnerabilities. One day this kid will get larger is curated to reflect this reality while highlighting the gorgeous, complex, and remarkable lives of those who, despite it, thrive, fall in love, start families, form communities, make art, party, and continue to fight for care and justice for all.

This exhibition is organized by guest-curator Danny Orendorff for DePaul Art Museum.
Support from Alphawood Foundation.