Artists and AIDS

Please allow me to make an addendum to “AIDS and the Arts: Behind the Scenes of a Tragedy,” Dec. 26. Feeling the urgent need to combat AIDS artistically, Artists Confronting AIDS was formed locally in 1985.

One of the organization’s primary goals is to encourage persons touched by the health crisis to express themselves through art. “AIDS/US,” a theatrical docudrama created by Artists Confronting AIDS and produced at the Skylight Theatre in 1986, provided an artistic outlet for 13 disparate people, six of whom had AIDS, to share their stories.

During the holiday season of 1988, Artists Confronting AIDS produced “Faithful, Joyful and Triumphant,” a theater piece composed of letters written by Persons With AIDS and their significant others, which played throughout the state of California.

“Forget Me Not,” a second letters performance piece, continues to perform locally and has begun touring nationally.

DALE RAOUL, Artists Confronting AIDS, Los Angeles