HIV Edmonton bids farewell to Ted Kerr, Inaugural Artist in Residence

HIV Edmonton would like to publicly thank Edmonton-based artist Ted Kerr for the creation and launch of the Artist in Residence pilot project. Art has always played a vital role in the HIV/AIDS movement and HIV Edmonton is proud to carry on the tradition with the innovative Artist in Residence project.

Since joining HIV Edmonton in July 2008 as Artist in Residence, Kerr has utilized his art to generate HIV/AIDS awareness and increase community involvement within Edmonton’s gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and men who have sex with men communities.

Among Kerr’s contributions to this project was his co-facilitation of HIV Edmonton’s Body Mapping Workshop, offered free to individuals living with HIV, as well as the subsequent art exhibit highlighting the body mapping work. The success of workshop was featured in the March 2009 edition of Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Kerr also coordinated film screenings at HIV Edmonton with visiting filmmakers, utilizing this medium as catalyst for community discussion around HIV/AIDS, stigma, discrimination and sexual health.

As part of his own artistic practice, Kerr collaborated with queer and queer-friendly artists to create postcards using frank humor to address issues around contemporary queer life in Edmonton.

Kerr continues to work in Edmonton’s film community on The Purpose of Being Loud, a three part film series exploring the impact of creativity and queerness on both the local and global HIV/AIDS levels. The first installment featured British filmmaker Derek Jarman’s Blue and Edmonton filmmaker Trevor Anderson’s The Island.