AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) activism began in the early 1980's when the disease was first discovered and beginning to be understood. AIDS activism took many cultural forms, including the creation of artworks, fundraisers and other benefits. In Canada, John A. Schweitzer, both an artist and art collector, was an early leader in AIDS activism, holding the first AIDS benefit auction in Canada, Art against AIDS, in 1986. In 1990 he chaired An AIDS Benefit for Actors in Montréal and in 1994 he founded The John A. Schweitzer Foundation, a private trust in support of visual artists with AIDS. He often spoke out on the subject in interviews, at conferences, and in other public forums. Additionally, he collaborated with and exhibited works by Robert Mapplethorpe, a well-known contemporary visual artist who suffered from the disease. (From Epstein, S. (1996). Impure science: AIDS, activism, and the politics of knowledge. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press and the
Curriculum Vitae of John A. Schweitzer