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Brent Shuttleworth · Carlos Andrés Gómez · Celena Glenn · Clara Sala · POSTMidnight
The IDEA…
In April of 2004, The Fight Apathy Tour began as an idea between two friends- Eric Cioe, Founder and former President of NYC Student Initiative for AIDS, Inc. and Carlos Andrés Gómez, spoken word artist and friend of NYC SIA. They sought to combine NYC SIA’s trademark of delivering amazing benefit shows with the potential of the organization to inspire students nationwide to start similar AIDS activism programs at their own universities.
The tour would consist of performances at campuses across the country with the aim of educating students about the issues rooted in the AIDS epidemic while motivating and providing them with the tools to adopt NYC SIA programs such as its Discount Card Program. Students would sell $10 discount cards redeemable at local businesses and 100% of the money raised would benefit HIV/AIDS relief in the developing world. The format of the tour would consist of an evening performance followed the next day by an artist-led interactive workshop.
Carlos recruited four other artists to join him- Brent Shuttleworth, Clara Sala, Celena Glenn and POSTMidnight. Together they formed the New York City Pilot Tour.
The PILOT…
Throughout the Summer of 2004, NYC SIA prepared for the launch of the New York City Pilot Tour set to begin in the Fall. NYC SIA finalized bookings by late August and on September 17th, 2004 the Fight Apathy Tour debuted at New York University.
Over 180 students packed Shorin Auditorium at the NYU Kimmel Center in what proved to be one of the most successful shows of the pilot with regards to mobilizing student communities. Twenty of the students who attended the show became highly involved in NYC SIA, some of whom have reached the level of becoming members of the current Board of Directors.
The Pilot Tour continued visiting NYC campuses including Columbia University, Pace University, St Johns University and Lehman College throughout the fall.
The REGIONAL…
With the success of the pilot, NYC SIA decided to make the production its number one priority.
In November of 2004 in the midst of the completion of the pilot tour, NYC SIA was successful in acquiring MTV Networks’ sponsorship. Shortly after, the organization launched a Regional East Coast Tour that kicked off on April 6th, 2005 at Stonybrook University in Long Island, NY.
More than 300 people attended the Stonybrook show while MTV cameras captured the performances. A segment about the tour ran nationwide on MTV Networks days later. Performances following the Stonybrook show included Princeton University and Amherst College.
The NEXT STEP…
After a year of passionate performances and interactive and engaging visits at numerous universities, NYC SIA is ready for the next step. The collaboration among NYC SIA, artists, students, university administration and community organizations is being strengthened with a variety of new activities that take the tour beyond one evening of performance and workshop. The goal of the tour has been reevaluated to include prevention and harm reduction material while continuing to convey an activist, mobilizing element. HIV/AIDS continues to kill because it is a disease that thrives on fear, on stigma and discrimination, on inequalities across continents and countries. The Fight Apathy Tour continues to discuss race, class, gender, sexuality and the many issues intrinsic to the pandemic to empower students to take action against HIV/AIDS.
The much anticipated national tour begins January 2006. |
