2023 Stigma Art Contest Winners
Below are the first, second and third place winners from the art contest for 2023. Honorable Mentions will be shared soon.
1st Place (video)
Here We Are Voices of Black Women Who Live with HIV
The short documentary film was produced by Davina (Dee) Connor and Karin Hayes. Giving thanks to Alecia Tramel, Evany Turk, Tamara Garrett, Stacy Jennings, Deirdre Johnson and Acinita Wright, the beautiful ladies who agreed to share their journey.
2nd Place (painting)
Anonymous, I Lost My Mind
3rd Place (poem)
Kijumba Macquelyn, Resilience’s Journey: From Darkness to Love
In the dimly lit room, where blurry lights fade,
A tale of resilience, in darkness it’s made.
I hoped for an end, for the pain to subside,
But in the sudden darkness, hope seemed to hide.
I wanted to gift my mother, this Christmas night,
But waking up in that shanty, I knew I’d lost the fight.
She blamed me always, for love’s misfortune to blame,
Yet I can’t hold it against her, for we’re all caught in life’s game.
My father, the Adonis, who left without care,
Leaving my mother to raise me, her burden to bear.
It’s not his fault alone, though I’m marked by his sin,
I can’t sneer at him, for deep down, he’s kin.
Years of torture, my mother’s wish for my demise,
The constant reminder of him, the pain in her eyes.
The razor’s edge beckoned, my desperate plea,
But waking up to the ceiling, I realized there’s more to see.
For the mark on my wrist, it tells a story untold,
Not just pain and trauma, but resilience, bold.
Those who accept me, who see beyond the scar,
They heal me with love, they’ve come from afar.
So let my poem be better, let it speak of the light,
That shines through the darkness, banishing the night.
For in this journey, we find strength anew,
In the healing power of love, so pure and true.