Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award

To honor the legacy of Mary Bowman and support other accomplished young art activists ("artivists") like her, the National AIDS Memorial has partnered with ViiV Healthcare to create the Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award. Student and non-student art activists are welcome to apply for this award. These $5,000 awards are intended to support young artivists (27 years of age or younger) each year who exemplify Mary’s passion for the arts as the vehicle for their own HIV/AIDS and/or health and social justice community activism and expression. Recipients of the Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award use their art and activism to raise greater awareness about bigotry, stigma, and social justice around the issue of HIV/AIDS and/or health and social inequities that fuel the spread of the disease.

This Award supports arts and culture programs that engage and inspire individuals and communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and recognizes the power of culture to break down stigma and isolation.   Mary Bowman was an icon of hope and resilience, and performed at the 2018 ViiV Healthcare Youth and Community Summit where she inspired leaders across the movement, one of many examples of Mary used her voice and art to make a difference.

In addition to the age limit (27 and younger) and the judges understanding of - and response to - each applicant's examples of their art activism submissions, judges will be reviewing each application to confirm that the applicant has thoroughly addressed the prompts, and meets the requirements, detailed in our Application Requirements.