Gian Cruz, Dear Kwong Chi, 2024



In Dear Kwong Chi, Cruz creates a video letter to the late artist Tseng Kwong Chi, drawing from the experience of living with HIV in diaspora. Across continents and decades, Kwong Chi’s legacy acts as an anchor for Cruz amongst limited representations of Asian narratives in AIDS histories.

Commissioned in 2024 as part of Red Reminds Me..., a program of seven videos reflecting the emotional spectrum of living with HIV today.

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About the artist
Gian Cruz (he/him) is a Filipino artist, researcher, and arts worker. His artistic practice is rooted in photography, art theory, and criticism and intersects with cinema, performance, and HIV/AIDS activism within Southeast Asian frameworks. He has worked with the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Korea; Jeu de Paume, Paris; Picto Foundation, Paris; Palais Galliera, Paris; Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris; La Biennale di Venezia; the Japan Foundation; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; Bienal de Curitiba; Blackwood Gallery, Toronto; Pride Photo Award, Amsterdam; and 4A Centre for Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Visual AIDS utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over. Learn more ︎︎︎