Each month a group of Peer Health Advocates (PHAs) gather at The Institute for Community Research (ICR) in Hartford, CT to build their knowledge and skills, and to discuss important community issues. These PHAs, trained through ICR’s Risk Avoidance Partnership (Project RAP), deliver harm reduction and HIV prevention messages and materials to those at risk for HIV infection in their communities. Over several months, the PHAs created artwork conveying HIV prevention and harm reduction messages as well as personal messages of family, hope and healing. RAP It!, an exhibition of their work, will be on display at the WindhamARTS Collaborative’s Next Step Gallery, 866 Main Street, Willimantic, CT from March 13 through April 9, 2008, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 13 from 5 to 7 pm.

The exhibit includes collage, masks, posters, paintings, and fabric art. An AIDS Awareness quilt, created by the PHAs and ICR staff will be on display. Portraits of the artists with personal quotes that describe their participation in Project RAP, and present hopeful messages about the power of change, memories of family, and the importance of faith are also included in the exhibit. ICR's Artistic Director Colleen Coleman worked closely with the PHAs as they created their works. “We all could see the interest and excitement growing within the group as the PHAs began to open up about their life experiences while developing ideas for their artwork,” she says. “One PHA told me this project allowed him to sit with his mother for the first time in many years, because she was helping him to sew his quilt square.”

Most of the artists featured in the exhibit have been meeting regularly at ICR and conducting community outreach for over 5 years. “When we recruited PHAs several years ago, they had to use drugs to be eligible for the study,” says Maria Martinez, Coordinator of the RAP Project. “But since being in the program, a lot of them have entered recovery and now see themselves in a more positive light.” The PHAs emphasize that the program gives them a sense of purpose by helping others. “When I see people on the street, I can say I’ve been there,” says one PHA. “It’s a reason to stay sober,” says another. According to a third artist, “The reward is the fact that I’m educating somebody and giving knowledge that I’ve learned to the community about HIV/AIDS.” One artist featured in the exhibit has been HIV positive for 21 years. “I am a survivor, not a victim,” she says. “For me, this exhibit is my way of telling my family and the community that I’m doing something positive.”

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The Institute for Community Research is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts applied research and community enhancement programs to promote equal access to health, education, and cultural resources.