The Yale AIDS Memorial Project (YAMP) is a young alumni-led initiative to honor and document the lives of hundreds of men and women from the university who perished during the AIDS epidemic. We are pleased to be co-sponsoring the YAMP reception and launch of its memorial website on Wednesday, November 20 at 6:30 p.m. The reception will be held in New York at Christie’s in Rockefeller Center, with special guest speaker Yale President Peter Salovey.Since its inception in 2011, YAMP has worked to tell the story of AIDS through the lens of a single institution, honoring the lives of those lost to the disease while making effects of the epidemic palpable for a younger generation and helping stimulate an AIDS memory boom. Since publishing its first Journal (www.yamp.org), YAMP has engaged the support of the Michael Palm Foundation and recruited design studio Linked By Air to develop and design the memorial website as an interactive platform. The website is the cornerstone of YAMP’s vision and a radical reimagining of the memorial space; the website’s design emphasizes the interconnections of individuals through their networks of friendships, shared interests, and professions. YAMP has partnered with Yale GALA, the Yale Alumni Association of New York (YAANY), the Yale LGBTQ Co-Op, the Global Health Justice Partnership, the Yale Film Studies Program, the Yale Women’s Center, and Yale Pride to co-host several events to foster dialogue about HIV/AIDS, gained the attention of outlets from the Yale Daily News to the New York Times. YAMP’s efforts are the first of its kind to memorialize, archive, and educate its visitors about the impact of AIDS in comprehensive detail and stories, and it will serve as a model other institutions can emulate in creating their own memorials.

 

In addition to live demonstrations of the new YAMP website, President Salovey will make a keynote address in the atrium of Christie’s showroom (introduced by honorary Chair Marc Porter—Chairman of Christie’s Americas), followed by cocktails and remarks from YAMP’s board and staff, and University Chaplain Sharon Kugler.

 

Host Committee:

George Chauncey & Ron Gregg

Mickey Dobbs

Alex Gorlin

Brad, Jen & Melissa Jamula on behalf of the Michael Palm Foundation

Marc Porter (Honorary Chair)

Thomas G. Masse & James M. Perlotto

Thomas Molner & Andrew Brimmer

Mark Schoofs

Will Schwalbe & David Cheng

Mark Sexton & Kirk Wallace

Colin A. Weil

List in Formation

 

Co-Sponsors:

Yale GALA: Yale’s LGBT Alumni Association

YAANY: Yale Alumni Association of New York

YBAA: Yale Black Alumni Association

YaleWomen

YLAA: Yale Latino Alumni Association

AAAYA: Association of Asian American Yale Alumni

Yale Blue Green: Yale’s Environmental Alumni Group

 

Corporate Sponsors:

Christie’s

Out in the Vineyard LGBT Wine Events and Tours

La Crema

A’Putia Sicilian Pastry

Skyline Espresso Catering

La Cucina Italiana