City of Vincent, WA
Australia
Robertson Park, cnr Stuart & Fitzgerald St. Perth AIDS Memorial since 1 December 2001
without names
The West Australian AIDS Memorial is an environmental artwork made in 2001 by artist Rodney Glick with architects Diego Ramirez and Brendan Wong. It is designed to be a place of contemplation, specifically to reflect upon:
- The memory of friends and relatives who have died from AIDS
- Volunteers who have given generously their time, talent and resources to the AIDS fields
- Those in their professional lives who contribute to those living with HIV / AIDS
- Scientists and AIDS educators who have dedicated their lives to the eradication of AIDS.
It was opened 1 December 2001 World AIDS Day by the project’s co-directors Alan Blackwood and Gary Giles. Many turn up there to light a candle on World AIDS Day each year. There was also a sacred bamboo grove where the ashes of loved ones were scattered.
The local GLBTI community raised $142,000 to pay for it and ran a competition to choose the design. But thanks to some decisions by the City of Vincent, taken without public community consultation, the memorial does not belong to the community. Instead it has been registered as a ‘private art installation’ run by the artist and architect. The community has no say in its running or maintenance.
A short time ago James Rendell, in his capacity as the Vice Chairperson of PLWHA WA Inc., went to a meeting with the city of Vincent regarding the restoration of the memorial, which had been neglected and damaged. It has since been repaired – but “regardless of how nice the final result of that now might be”, the result is not as he was led to believe.
Photo © Doug Pollard the stirrer

11 December 2012
Doug Pollard, Perth