Capital campaign launches on World AIDS Day for Palm Springs AIDS memorial sculpture

The Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Sculpture Task Force officially launched its capital campaign for an AIDS memorial sculpture on Wednesday, which is also designated as World AIDS Day.

The task force has partnered with DAP Health to create a website where community members can donate. Those interested can visit www.daphealth.org/aids-memorial-fund/. The goal is to raise $500,000, which will cover further development and construction of the sculpture, said task force spokesperson Dan Spencer. It will take approximately 12 to 18 months for the piece to be completed.

The Palm Springs City Council unanimously approved the piece and its placement in Downtown Park, located at the northwest corner of Museum Way and Belardo Road, at its meeting on Sept. 30. The artwork will be donated to the city.

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The planned sculpture will be designed by Coachella Valley-based artist Phillip K. Smith, III. Carved out of limestone, the front face will feature concentric circles that create a dynamic surface of light and shadow, a metaphor for the community, humanity and people who have been touched by AIDS, and across the surface will be a pinwheel of line work, like a groove that is a cut across that topography, according to city documents.

The sculpture will be supported by a 15 foot by 15 foot foundation and will require electrical conduit for basic up-lighting. Adjacent signage will provide the artwork name and a website link to a database for names and stories of individuals being memorialized along with links to local health and educational resources, as well as web access to the National AIDS Memorial and the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

“The AIDS Memorial Sculpture will be a touchstone for unity, hope, grief, and healing in the Coachella Valley. As a monolithic, singular stone sculpture, the carved surfaces will dance with light, shadow, and reflection," explained Smith in a press release. "Through rotating grooves cut into the gloss surface as matte marks signifying unity through struggle or the soft curve of undulating forms evoking healing over grief, this is a memorial to be touched, to be felt."

"It is a timeless, enduring landmark delicately placed on the land. It is heavy, but light — lifting hope, lifting struggle, and lifting up what is important," he added.

The sculpture will be located in the center of Downtown Park, and it will become a permanent fixture, according to city documents.

Spencer, an architect who has worked on a number of clinics dedicated to HIV and AIDS and was on the design team to create the Key West AIDS Memorial, said initial talks for the sculpture began eight years ago, but when the new city park took form, it became "a perfect spot for it."

"It does allow for people to see it from all different sides because it's a dynamic piece to see how the sun plays on the carved stone, and it allows for much more intimate interaction," Spencer said. "And yet it is still in a place where if there's a larger gathering, let's say on World AIDS Day in the presentation area that they have set up with the stage, it's not far from there."

In 2020, 10,337 people were living with HIV or AIDS in Riverside County, and 6,820 people (66%) were reported to be in the eastern portion of the county, which includes the Coachella Valley, according to data from the Riverside University Health System. The prevalence rate of people living with HIV in Palm Springs (7,535.2 per 100,000) is more than 21 times higher than California overall (344.8 per 100,000).

Ema Sasic covers health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Donations now accepted for Palm Springs AIDS memorial sculpture