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The in-process mockup Trace (assembled, welded, and awaiting the final baseplate, patina, and finish) and the engraved word “isolation.”

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FAM Update from the Board Chair, 2024 Q2

Dear Friends of FAM:

I’m happy to report that our General Contractor has been hired and the fabrication process for the Traces continues!

Please see below for more details on these exciting developments and read about what else we’ve been up to since the end of Q1.

MONUMENT CONSTRUCTION PROCESS UPDATE

On May 6, 2024, the West Hollywood City Council approved the agreement with PCL to serve as the General Contractor for the construction of the Monument. PCL will hire and supervise all sub-contractors including fabricator AFA, the lighting contractor, the stone contractor and others.

Artist rendering of STORIES: The AIDS Monument

As reported last quarter, the City of West Hollywood (“City”) selected American Fine Arts, Inc. (“AFA”) to serve as the fabricator to produce the tall bronze “Traces” that are the central feature of the Monument. AFA’s first task has been to create a full-size “mockup” Trace so that the City, Dan Tobin (the Monument artist) and FAM can approve it before AFA goes into full production for all of the Traces.

Below are photos of the in-process mockup Trace (assembled, welded, and awaiting the final baseplate, patina, and finish – again, the final bronze finish and patina have not been added yet) and the engraved word “isolation.” AFA is expected to complete that full-size Trace within the next week or so.

The following is the estimated schedule for the various stages of Monument construction in West Hollywood Park in the next three (3) months:

Site mobilization (e.g., site preparations for construction work) begins in mid-July 2024,
Demolition (e.g., removal of the grass lawn) occurs in early August through mid-August 2024;
Excavation begins in late August 2024; and
Underground utilities installed in mid-September through mid-October 2024.

The current estimated date for completion of the Monument is August 2025.

If you’d like to see what was presented at the City’s Public Hearing on Pre-Construction of the Monument on July 9, including the most recent renderings, the project history, the finishes to be used at the Monument site, and the estimated construction schedule, please click here (you will need to install WeTransfer on your computer or phone, if you don’t already have it).

If you want to sign up for Monument construction updates from the City, please visit www.engage.weho.org/aidsmonument and create an account.

STORYTELLING UPDATES

FAM continues to gather audio stories, which are housed on our website and will be available to visitors of the Monument. We posted eight (8) new videos on social media and had three (3) STORIES Circles in May and June.

HEAR Our STORIES update. We posted one (1) new audio story on our website, and three (3) more are in process:

Richard Rivera (pictured) about HIV in prison and caring for a dying friend (posted);
Stephen Bennett will recount his memories of a typical busy, emotional day running APLA during the height of the epidemic;
Los Angeles Times journalist LZ Granderson will pay tribute to tennis legend Arthur Ashe; and
Actress Jean Smart will soon record a story about “Gunsmoke” actress Amanda Blake.

Social Media update. We posted six (6) new videos on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook:

Singer Rufus Wainwright remembers his late friend, the openly gay first reality TV star Lance Loud (pictured);
Author Mark S. King tells about the life and death of L.A. Shanti Executive Director Daniel Warner;
Sean Strub’s story about the founding, successes and challenges of POZ Magazine;
A video about our Inter-Generational STORIES Circle at the Los Angeles LGBT Center on June 5;

Air Force Lt. Gen. Leah Lauderback’s tribute to Leonard Matlovich (pictured), who sued the AirForce after being discharged due to his homosexuality;
Gus Kenworthy’s recording about French male supermodel Albert Delegue, whose family denied reports that he died of AIDS;
Craig DaSilva’s recording about Harvey Milk’s lover and campaign manager Scott Smith; and
John Kelly‘‘s “Pride Tirade” urging younger generations to learn about and build upon what older generations have achieved for LGBTQ rights.

STORIES Circles update.

We had three STORIES Circles in the last quarter, two of which were dual language events (and we thank the City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator’s Office for providing translators and headsets to allow us to present in both Spanish and English):

On May 18, FAM and APAIT did an event at the Tropico de Nopal art gallery in Historic Filipinotown, largely for their Latinx clients (including translation from English to Spanish). Eric Wat was our featured speaker and he told about the challenges in finding therapists to counsel LGBT people during the ‘80s and how one straight female therapist learned on the job while helping a young Japanese-American man come out to his conservative family before he died.
On June 5, FAM and the Los Angeles LGBT Center co-sponsored a very well-attended Inter-Generational (18-25 years and 40+ years) event at the Center where our lead speaker was Raymond Jimenez, the Center’s director of permanent and transitional housing programs who spoke about how the encouragement of a mentor gave him the confidence to become the leader he is today.
On June 26, FAM partnered with the Minority AIDS Project to host an event at MAP’s facility. The Circle was conducted in Spanish with English translation, and our lead speaker was Hernan Molina, the government affairs liaison for the City of West Hollywood who has also worked extensively in the HIV/AIDS arena. This was our 12th STORIES Circle (!!) and the last one we are planning at the moment.

I hope you share our excitement about the start of fabrication and construction! Over ten (10) years of hard work are finally paying off. Your support and patience are so appreciated.

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