he artists included in this gallery range in age from 16 to 24 and all live in Central and South Central Los Angeles.
I was invited by Connie Samaras to curate this space because I co-direct
a youth driven HIV prevention project utilizing the arts to educate inner city teens about AIDS. In 1992, when we started REACH LA, the HIV infection rates for young women ages 14-24 had risen 81% over a three year period. At this time, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that one out of every five people with AIDS was infected as teenager. In Los Angeles County, homicide is the leading cause of death for youth ages 15 to 24 and AIDS is the leading cause of death for adults ages 25 to 44.
The voices in this gallery underline these facts in a remarkable way.
