Art for Humanity (AfH) initiated the Break the Silence HIV/Aids print portfolio in 2000, with the purpose to instill a greater sense of social responsibility towards the pandemic and to those who are infected and affected by the disease. The project was designed by AfH director Jan Jordaan in collaboration with Vedant Nanackchand and Dr. Nigel Rollins. 31 artists – 21 South African and ten international – have contributed original fine art prints to the HIV/AIDS initiative.

Well-known South African artists, including Gabisile Nkosi and Diane Victor, joined international artists Alex Flett (Scotland), Carmen Perrin (Switzerland) and others to contribute to the portfolio collection. The Break the Silence initiative is endorsed by a number of international leaders involved in the field of health, human rights, culture and art, including Dr. Peter Piot, head of UN AIDS.

The artists joined the project because it offered them a unique opportunity to use their talents to advocate these significant messages to the community. Gabisile Nkosi, an artist based in KwaZulu-Natal believes in the African proverb that says ‘If you want to hide something from a black man, write it in black and white.’ To convey this message, Nkosi said, “it is better to do a colourful visual, rather than to use text. As an artist, I feel privileged to play a role in promoting HIV/Aids awareness through the medium of visual art”.

The limited edition portfolio (25 sets) of the original signed and numbered prints and the catalogues are exhibited worldwide and are available for a donation. The funding raised will be used to support the advocacy programme of the project which consists of a billboard and poster campaign to inspire ‘moral ownership’ of the pandemic in society.

More than 80 Billboards have been flighted around South Africa and internationally as part of the Break the Silence advocacy programme. This campaign is ongoing and individuals and organisations can still support this campaign by sponsoring a billboard. 

The Break the Silence print portfolio is part of the following permanent collections: Durban Art Gallery, South Africa; UCLA Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, California; United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland; Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, Matubatuba, South Africa; Department of Arts and Culture, Pretoria, South Africa; Namibia National Art Museum, Windhoek; MTN Arts Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa and others.

Furthermore, the portfolio has been exhibited at various national and international institutions including the Botswana National Gallery in Gaberone, the National Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, the Barcelona AIDS 2002 Conference in Spain, the University of Dundee in Scotland, and the University of Stellenbosch Art Gallery, South Africa, DUT Art Gallery, Artist for Humanity, Durban, SA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado, US and others.

The Break the Silence HIV/AIDS awareness billboard campaign and print portfolio has received the following awards: