In 2007, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria initiated a joint project with Magnum Photos to document the impact of antiretroviral treatment on the lives of people living with AIDS around the world. The AIDS pandemic has had a terrible impact in most parts of the world, but it has been particularly devastating in countries where access to even basic healthcare is limited. Internationally, the story of the terrible toll of AIDS has been well-publicized. Less well known are global efforts to drive back the pandemic, by treating those who are already sick and by preventing new HIV infections.
Through the collaboration with Magnum Photos, the Global Fund harnessed the talents of some of the best photographers in the world to capture the complex changes that take place when people who are faced with death suddenly get a new chance at life. An international team of eight noted photographers traveled to nine countries to document the transformative effects that AIDS treatment has had on 33 individuals and their families. In India, Haiti, Mali, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Vietnam, the photographers created visual chronicles that encompassed their subjects’ lives both before and after the start of treatment. The Access to Life exhibition is the result of that work. The Tokyo exhibition was launched on September 3, 2010, with an opening panel discussion and speech by Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
Access to Life is a powerful testament to the strength and spirit of each person, the care and commitment of those around them, and the life-changing impact of the drugs, which are available thanks to international funding.
Access to Life was first exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC in June 2008. A companion book was launched on World AIDS Day 2008 at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, and in 2009 the exhibition traveled to the Museo Matadero in Madrid; the Stenersen Museum in Oslo; Rome’s Museo dell’Ara Pacis; the African American Museum and Library in Oakland, California; and the Berliner Congress Center in Berlin. Access to Life will be shown at the United Nations in New York after the exhibition in Tokyo.
More information:
Access to Life—Tokyo Events
| Sept. 3 (Friday) | Opening Panel Discussion and Exhibit Preview >> Prime Minister Kan Opens Access to Life |
| Sept. 5 (Sunday) | Special Opening Event with Carol Nyirenda “Zambia’s Carol Nyirenda on AIDS, Women, and Africa” Carol Nyirenda is the national coordinator of the Zambia’s Community Initiative for Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria (CITAM+) and a board member of the Global Fund |
| Sept. 12 (Sunday) | Special Guest Speaker: Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori “A Message for My Generation Around the World” |
| Sept. 18 (Saturday) | Special Gallery Session: Sonim • Roma Tanaka • Dr. Miwako Honda “Connecting through Access to Life” |
Exhibit Information
| Location: | Asahi Gallery & Square 11th Floor, Yurakucho Mullion, Tokyo |
| Organizers: | Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Magnum Photos Japan Center for International Exchange/Friends of the Global Fund, Japan Asahi Shimbun |
| Supporting Organizations: | Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare |
| Special Sponsor: | Takeda Pharmaceutical |
| Sponsor: | All Nippon Airways |
| Collaborating Organizations: | GCAP Japan / STAND UP TAKE ACTION Japan AIDS & Society Association/Project-RING Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention Japanese Network of People living with HIV/AIDS |
