On October 1, Visual AIDS will host THE HARD CORPS: clubs, sex, activism, bodies panel and community discussion at La MaMa Galleria from 6 to 8 p.m. The program will re-engage the activist/artist-led alternative parties of panelists Julie Tolentino (Clit Club | Tattooed Love Child) and Aldo Hernandez (Meat), moderated by Joshua Lubin-Levy. The discussion will consider the range of affective and activist responses to the intersections of nightlife and community building at the heart of throwing sex-positive parties during the height of the AIDS crisis.

For the program, we are hoping to bring together anecdotes--fabulous, fierce and forgettable too--from comrades, compatriots, partners in crime, participants, revelers and the like from parties such as Clit Club, Tattooed Love Child, MEAT & PORK. We are particularly invested in considerations of HIV/AIDS activism, community-building, and creative escape in the scenes and spaces fostered and frequented at the time.

If interested in sharing your recollections, portions of which may be discussed aloud over the course of the evening, please send your recollections by Thursday, September 24, to Alex Fialho at afialho@visualaids.org. Please note if you’d prefer to have your name accompany or be anonymous with the sharing, and/or if you plan to attend the program and share the anecdotes yourself.