INSIGHT ‘‘ O
In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, LGBTQ+ communities in the UK were often excluded from political power and in effect, from healthcare and medical research.
Eilish McLaughlin, Chair of CILIP LGBTQ+ Network
N Saturday 13 June, the CILIP LGBTQ+ committee had its inaugural hangout at the Wellcome collection in London. Our wonderful
events coordinator, Salvatore Bellavia organised a guided tour of Tenderness and Rage: Stories of HIV and Care, an exhibition charting the height of the AIDS epidemic in the UK through- out the ‘80s and ‘90s alongside global experiences of HIV in the present day. The show’s curator, Adam Rose guided the group through the exhibition and provided thoughtful insights and background on the photography, film and archival materials on display with the intention of highlighting “who’s most affected [and] which groups are more likely to come to contact or experience greater barriers to accessing treatment.” The exhibition provides a through-line from the early years of the AIDS epidemic in London to the present-day experiences of refugees, gay men, and women of colour across the globe. In doing so, Adam says the exhibition calls attention to why this activism “continues to be so urgent, particularly in the context of ongoing cuts to HIV funding”. In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, LGBTQ+ communities in the UK were often excluded from political power and in effect, from healthcare and medical research. Gordon Rainsford’s 1993 photograph of a mass “die-in” by AIDS activists in Trafalgar Square encapsulates the kind of call to action that LGBTQ+ groups (namely, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, ACT UP) adopted at that time; Silence = Death. Alongside images of protest, there’s a glass cabinet showing newspaper clippings and images that acknowledge the controversy brought about by the Wellcome Trust’s 75 per cent stake in the pharma company that produced the HIV drug, AZT. As part of a campaign to lower the exorbitant cost of the drug, ACT UP’s co-founder Rob Archer bought shares in the company, allowing him to pose questions at its AGM while others picketed
June-July 2026
Tenderness and Rage exhibition. Quilt by Martin McGrath Studio and Karina Thompson. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. © Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
outside the building. One photograph of the protestors shows a placard reading “We££come AZT Profiteers”. I work in Open Access, so I found it astonishing that in recent memory, that the UK’s largest provider of non- governmental funding for openly published scientific research and had to be set right in helping to make life- saving medicine accessible. Maybe the criticisms around the Wellcome Trust’s pharmaceutical investments during the COVID-19 pandemic provides a more recent but no less troubling example of the financial gains that funders can reap in a time of crisis. Tenderness and Rage reminds us that access to AIDS and HIV related healthcare, information and support is still under threat and as ever, it’s the most marginalised who suffer. Alongside archival materials from ‘80s and ‘90s London, the exhibition calls attention to people like Phindale from Johannesburg whose job as a counsellor at an AIDS clinic in the city has been removed after its funding was pulled by the Trump administration.
Despite the exemplifications of executive negligence, the exhibition is buoyed by so many representations of care from within the affected communities. Women with HIV working with Catwalk4Power have
hand-stitched female body parts to communicate their experiences of living with the disease and its effects on body image and sexuality. Photographs from Gideon Mendel’s Through Positive Eyes project are also featured, a collaborative storytelling portfolio from people living with HIV and AIDS across the globe. The images empower the individual to tell their own story and provide a broad picture of the epidemic to challenge our preconceptions. It was heartening to come together as a group of LGBTQ+ library and information professionals and see the power and compassion of grassroots community efforts around the world. In discussion with Adam, he revealed that the exhibition title was inspired by A Last Supper of Queer Apostles, a collection of essays gathered by Pedro Lemebel (which committee members highly recommend as Pride month read!). Specifically, Gwendolyn Harper’s imperative to “remember the AIDS crisis with renewed generosity and rage”.
The show is on until 30 May 2027 at the Wellcome collection in London. If you’d like to stay in the loop about upcoming events form CILIP’s LGBTQ+ Network, please get in touch via:
Secretary.LGBTQ@
cilip.org.uk. IP
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