Scope and arrangement
The AIDS Poster Collection donated by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) contains posters related to the fight against AIDS that date from 1986-1993. The posters are grouped into the following categories: amfAR, Art Against AIDS, Day Without Art, and World Health Organization. They are grouped according to the AIDS awareness campaign for which they were produced. Within each category the posters are arranged alphabetically by artist, photographer, or title. In most cases, titles have been taken from the text on the posters.
The majority of the posters in this collection relate to Art Against AIDS, a series of sales exhibitions which benefited amfAR. These sales exhibitions were held in New York City in 1987 and in Los Angeles in 1988-1989. The Art Against AIDS campaign continued this AIDS artwork with its public art component, Art Against AIDS: On the Road, in which artwork appeared on posters, billboards, bus panels and shelters, as well as print and electronic media. Art Against AIDS: On the Road began in San Francisco in 1989 and traveled to Chicago and Washington, D.C., in 1990.