Day Without Art

December 1, 2008, marks the J. Paul Getty Museum's 19th annual observance of Day Without Art. On this day, the international arts community pauses to remember and respond to the AIDS crisis and its impact on cultural life.

Visit the Getty Villa on this day to take part in special tours and to add your own commemoration card to collective memory trees. Admission to the Getty Villa is free; an advance, timed ticket is required. Book your free tickets to the Getty Villa.

		Memory Trees
		Shrouded Work of Art
		Spotlight Talks
		About AIDS
		What You Can Do

Memory Trees

Memory trees placed outside the Museum Entrance will offer an opportunity to reflect on the universal experience of loss. Visitors are invited to make a commemoration card and hang it with red ribbon from a tree branch to share their reflection with other visitors, an act that is inspired by ancient rituals of remembrance. Visitors are also invited to embellish their cards with images of plants that symbolized life, death, and remembrance in the ancient world:

• Rosemary signified remembrance and was used in ceremonies that marked both life and death.
• Myrtle was a symbol of immortality and provided hope for the victory of life over death.
• Date palm symbolized both death and the hope for rebirth. Its scientific name, Phoenix dactylifera, refers to the mythical bird that was reborn from its own ashes.
• Pomegranate represents the cycle of nature and is a symbol of Persephone, the Greek goddess of fertility.

Shrouded Work of Art

Among the earliest existing Greek representations of an artist engaged in his craft, this statue of a man playing the harp will be shrouded on December 1, 2008, in observance of Day Without Art. This visual deprivation symbolizes the creative loss caused by the epidemic.
 

Spotlight Talks

Held throughout the day, 20-minute talks in the galleries and gardens will explore some of the ways in which loss was commemorated in antiquity through works of art and nature. Free with your advance, timed ticket to the Getty Villa. Sign up at the Tour Meeting Place outside the Museum Entrance 15 minutes before each talk. Space is limited.

• Gallery Talks
  11:15 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.
• Garden Talks
  12:00 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.

About AIDS

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which slowly destroys the body's ability to fight infections. HIV is not casually transmitted. The virus can be passed from one person to another through unprotected sex, sharing intravenous needles, or from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding. HIV cannot be contracted from dishes, towels, or toilets, or by caring for a person with AIDS.

HIV rarely kills people with AIDS; instead, death results from the effects of opportunistic infections (those that take advantage of the body's weakened state). Many of these diseases are preventable with proper medical attention.

World AIDS Day 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008, marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. The theme for this year's commemorative event is "Lead—Empower—Deliver." Since 1988 efforts made to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results. According to the latest report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (www.unaids.org) on the global HIV/AIDS crisis, some 33.2 million people are currently living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

Since 1988 efforts made to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results. The latest report published by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, however, indicates that the crisis is not yet over in any part of the world. Annual statistics on HIV/AIDS bring to light the continuing need to promote awareness of the disease.

What You Can Do

Learn
Learn more about AIDS by visiting the Web sites of the following organizations:

• AIDS Project Los Angeles, www.apla.org
• National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov
• Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, www.unaids.org

Act
Take action by:

• Raising awareness of HIV and AIDS in your area.
• Wearing a red ribbon and asking others to do the same.
• Protecting yourself and your partners. This is the first and best way to stop the spread of HIV.
• Taking care of yourself. If you have any reason to believe you may be infected, get tested anonymously and for free. For a directory of test sites, call the California AIDS Hotline at (800) 367-AIDS.
• Volunteering your time at a local AIDS organization.
• Making a contribution to an AIDS organization.

Volunteer Your Time
The following organizations need volunteers:

• AIDS Healthcare Foundation, www.aidshealth.org
• AIDS Project Los Angeles, www.apla.org
• Being Alive—People with HIV/AIDS Action Coalition, www.beingalivela.org
• Bienestar AIDS Project, www.bienestar.org
• Camp Laurel, www.camplaurel.org
• Common Ground, www.commongroundwestside.org
• Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, www.pedaids.org
• Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, www.artistswithaids.org
• Project Angel Food, www.angelfood.org
• Prototypes, www.prototypes.org
• Women Alive, www.women-alive.org

Donate Your Dollars
Contributions can be made to the groups listed above or to the following organizations:

• Aid for AIDS, www.aidforaids.net
• American Foundation for AIDS Research, www.amfar.org

How to Get Here
The Getty Villa is located at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, approximately 25 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. See Hours, Directions, Parking for directions and parking information.