Alexis MacDonald, Stephen Lewis Foundation The Unsung S/heroes

This is a story about AIDS and the women so rarely seen. Through stunning large-scale photographic portraits and installations, this exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of African grandmothers on the frontlines of the global AIDS crisis. Constructed from photographs by Canadian photographer Alexis MacDonald, senior staff member at the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the exhibition includes images that show the dignity, grief, and tenacity of the unsung s/heroes of the AIDS epidemic in Africa who have become the centrepiece of survival for their families and communities. After burying their adult children, these grief-stricken but indomitable older women stepped in to raise a generation of orphaned grandchildren. A decade later, they have come together to resurrect communities and have begun to mobilize for their human rights. Typically left out of the picture in the story of the AIDS crisis, these multi-dimensional women represent the triumph of the human spirit over adversity and are leading one of the most compelling and untold social justice movements of our time.

Exhibition designed by Moss & Lam

Presented by The Daniels Corporation