On the occasion of World AIDS Day, Monday 1 December 2025, the Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci will exceptionally open its doors from 9:30 am to 10:00 pm with a full day dedicated to prevention, memory, education and contemporary artistic languages.
The programme is conceived in dialogue with the exhibition VIVONO. Art and Affection, HIV-AIDS in Italy. 1982–1996, on view until 10 May 2026, and involves students, artists, activists, health professionals and the wider public.
Morning – Schools and educational activities
The day begins at 9:30 am with a guided tour of the exhibition VIVONO for several classes from the G. Marconi vocational school in Prato, followed by a session on emotional education and prevention with:
- Samuele Bencini (activist, educator, consultant and member of Arcigay Prato-Pistoia)
- Nicola Macchione (medical doctor, urologist and andrologist, active in scientific outreach through social media and the press)
Afternoon – Memory, community, prevention
At 3:30 pm, the AIDS Memorial Quilts will be unfurled in the square in front of Centro Pecci. Started in San Francisco in 1987 and brought to Italy thanks to ASA Milano, the Quilts are a collective and deeply personal monument created to remember those who died from AIDS-related complications. They will remain on view throughout the day.
From 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, in collaboration with Arcigay Prato-Pistoia l’Asterisco and We Test, free rapid HIV tests will be available, administered by trained professionals.
At the same time, Samuele Bencini and Nicola Macchione will meet the public and the Prato Students’ Council in an open discussion on sexual and emotional health and prevention.
Cinema – International perspectives and Italian memory
From 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm, the Cinema Hall will host the screening of short films commissioned by Visual AIDS for Day With(out) Art 2025 – Meet Us Where We’re At, an international programme exploring community practices, harm reduction and contemporary experiences related to HIV.
Some videos are restricted to viewers aged 18 and over.
At 8:00 pm, a panel discussion on the representation of HIV-AIDS in Italian literature and cinema will feature:
Jonathan Bazzi, Valeria Calvino, Luca Starita, Giovanni Minerba, moderated by Michele Bertolino.
At 9:00 pm, the film Partners (1990) by Ottavio Mai and Giovanni Minerba will be screened—one of the first Italian works to portray life with HIV, capturing its challenges, hopes, hardships and the desire for a future shaped by love.