“Dress Up Against AIDS” at the University of Arkansas

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University Programs will host an art exhibit by Brazilian artist Adriana Bertini from March 12 to March 29 in the Anne Kittrell Gallery Bertini will be showing six of her dresses made out of condoms in her exhibit “Dress Up Against AIDS”. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, in the Gallery. An informal lecture by Bertini will follow at 7 p.m. in the Multicultural Center.

This event is free to current University of Arkansas Fayetteville students through the Student Activities Fee, and students must show university ID for entrance. Admission for general public is free and contingent upon seating availability. For special accommodations due to disability, please contact the Office of Student Activities, osa@uark.edu or call 479-575-5255.

Bertini creates her art using condoms that do not pass the quality control of the industries, in order to raise awareness of the need to be smart about sex. Bertini says she was inspired to use condoms in her work when volunteering for an AIDS prevention group and has a passion to remind people of the need for protection when having sex. Bertini’s dresses display at least one thousand condoms, some using up to 80,000 condoms. Since her collaboration at the XIV AIDS conference in 2002, in Barcelona, Bertini only devotes herself to projects related to preventing AIDS through the arts, developing new techniques, and improving her work. She has been featured in over 1,500 publications. Bertini received the “Honoring Our Hero” award in Washington D.C. in December 2004.

This event is sponsored by University Programs Art Gallery Committee. Adriana Bertini will be available to speak with press by appointment only on March 11th through the 13th. For more information on this event, contact University Programs Art Gallery Coordinator Lana Hackler at upart@uark.edu or (479)575-5255. For more information on Adriana Bertini please visit www.adrianabertini.com.