New York is a city of flashing neon signs and giant billboards on Times Square and beyond. So when it came to finding a new, thought-provoking and meaningful way to mark this World AIDS Day on Saturday, Dec.1, the NYC AIDS Memorial turned to Jenny Holzer, the visual artist known for her amazing work with LED screens. Enter #LightTheFight, a city-wide campaign that features a fleet of five trucks with LED signs displaying writings of people living with HIV and AIDS, including activists, artists, poets, and educators whose powerful words are selected and presented by Holzer.

IT IS GUNS, 2018; © 2018 Jenny Holzer; Photo by Steve Speranza.

The artist believes the messages could comfort those impacted by AIDS and “reignite fires in bellies to end AIDS forever.”

 -Keith Fox, Founding Chairman of the NYC AIDS Memorial

“I’m working on #LightTheFight because the fight against AIDS continues,” Holzer added. “It’s crucial to maintain awareness that the AIDS epidemic is live, in New York and around the world.”

IT IS GUNS, 2018; © 2018 Jenny Holzer; Photo by Joe Carrotta.

After a kickoff ceremony and performance at 4:30PM art the New York City AIDS Memorial Park, these trucks will drive through the city and stop by The LGBT Community Center, Harlem, Times Square, Hudson River Piers and the Meatpacking District.

People are encouraged to capture the installations and post them with the #LightTheFight hashtag.

IT IS GUNS, 2018; © 2018 Jenny Holzer; Photo by Daniel Shapiro.

“We built the NYC AIDS Memorial to acknowledge the past and honor the 100,000 New Yorkers who have died from this disease,” said Keith Fox, Founding Chairman of the NYC AIDS Memorial. “The park has become a symbolic destination, even a sacred space for many.  #LightTheFight is our way of creating a living and breathing Memorial – one based in history with an eye towards inspiring future activists as the disease is far from over.”