Artists awarded commission for new HIV/Aids national monument

Two artists have been awarded a commission for a new HIV and Aids national monument that will be installed in Phoenix Park in 2023.

Following a two-stage open competition, Anaisa Franco and Michael R DiCarlo have been awarded the commission by the oversight committee for the monument, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach.

Their proposal, entitled “Embraced Loop”, is a concept that uses an abstraction form of the HIV symbol – the red ribbon – to create a parametric shape where the rope loop closes, creating an embrace of solidarity.

The monument is intended to be installed in the People’s Gardens in the Phoenix Park in 2023.

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Its purpose will be “to remember those who have died and mark their lives and contribution to society, while also showing solidarity with those living with and affected by HIV today”.

The monument will also serve as a tribute to the friends, families, support groups, doctors, nurses and carers who dedicated so much of their life and work to the treatment of HIV and improving care.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the monument would “raise collective awareness while also creating a fitting and inclusive space for people to gather, to remember and reflect”.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said it had been four decades since the first case of Aids was reported in Ireland.

“The huge improvements in treatment since then mean that HIV, once treated, is now a chronic illness that cannot be transmitted to others, rather than a terminal one. However, it continues to be one of the most stigmatised medical conditions, placing a burden on families and communities,” Mr Varadkar said.

“This monument will be a place of remembrance dedicated to those who lost their lives and a tribute to those who provide care. It will also be an opportunity to raise awareness and to take on those stigmas. I am grateful to the HIV and Aids monument oversight committee for their dedicated work in selecting the excellent competition winner.”

The HIV and Aids monument oversight committee was established in 2021 to oversee the design and commissioning of the monument. The competition was organised and administered on behalf of the committee by the Office of Public Works (OPW).

In June of this year, the OPW invited expressions of interest from individuals and project teams including professional and non-professional applicants to create a national monument. Twenty-six eligible submissions were received, eight of which made it through to the second stage of the competition, which included the development of a maquette.

A jury nominated by the committee adjudicated on the eight finalists in November 2022 and the winner was ratified by the committee in December 2022. The financial value of the commission is €200,000.

The jury comprised nominees from HIV Ireland; Fast-Track Cities; Irish Haemophilia Society; Ana Liffey Drug Project; Gender, Orientation, Sexual Health, HIV (GOSHH); Arts Council; an OPW principal architect and an arts nominee.

The committee said the chosen project has “universal appeal, is ambitious and aesthetically strong, and that the artists displayed a thorough understanding of the brief”.