Activism through art: PEERS Alliance hosting workshop to combat HIV/AIDS stigma
Brittany Spencer | CBC News | Posted: September 21, 2025 9:00 AM | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
Cut the Stigma workshop part of broader art initiative set to open Nov. 1 in P.E.I.
A unique art form is being used to help break the stigma around living with HIV/AIDS.
P.E.I. advocacy group PEERS Alliance is hosting a workshop Sunday called Cut the Stigma, in partnership with the P.E.I. Trans Network. Participants will learn the art of lino cutting or lino printing – a technique where a design is carved into a piece of linoleum or rubber, covered with ink and pressed onto paper or fabric.
“Using art as a tool for activism… is often called “artivism” to raise awareness and make change that way,” said Kal Ross, director at the P.E.I. Transgender Network. They will be teaching the workshop.
This project is one part of a broader art initiative called the Red Ribbon Path, said Scot Alan, an HIV and sexual health specialist with PEERS Alliance.
The Red Ribbon Path will be an outdoor art installation coming to downtown Charlottetown in November. There will be six pieces, with each one representing a group most affected by HIV/AIDS.
“You’ll be able to follow the path and take in all of this art and hopefully reflect and learn something about HIV awareness and hopefully destigmatize it a bit as well,” Alan said.
Alan said the stigma around HIV/AIDS stems from a lack of understanding of what the virus is and how it impacts people.
“Unfortunately HIV is still referred to as a gay man’s disease, which it’s not, it affects everyone, anyone can get HIV,” they said.
“It’s a broader community health initiative that we really need to focus on.”
Bringing people together
Ross has been lino cutting for a few years and was asked to help create pieces related to HIV/AIDS and the queer community for the Red Ribbon Path project.
“When I was reflecting on what I wanted to create for that project, I wanted to find a way to invite more people in the community into my pieces,” they said.
“I thought, what better way to do that than to teach people the craft and have folks create their own pieces to add to what I’m doing.”
Out of that came the idea for the workshop. Ross will be teaching people the basic techniques used in lino cutting and helping participants create their own pieces based on designs they made for the project.
Ross said while they do see how the spread of misinformation can create fear among communities affected by HIV/AIDS, projects like this one can help bring people together and provide support while also combating false narratives about the virus.
“I also have hope in our community and the power that, you know, having each other’s backs and collectively fighting that hate, has,” Ross said.
The Red Ribbon Path will open with an inaugural walk through the installations on Nov. 1 and will stay open for the entire month.
