PEIStaff with PEERS Alliance and the P.E.I. Trans Network are hosting a lino cutting workshop as part of a broader art project aimed at breaking down stigma around HIV/AIDS.Cut the Stigma workshop part of broader art initiative set to open Nov. 1 in P.E.I.Brittany Spencer · CBC News · Posted: Sep 21, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoLinocut artwork, like the piece pictured here, is made using a printmaking technique where a design is carved into a piece of linoleum or rubber, covered with ink and pressed onto paper or fabric. (Submitted by Kal Ross)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. Scott Alan, an HIV and sexual health specialist with PEERS Alliance, said the workshop will provide folks with a space to be creative and encourage them to have important conversations about living with HIV/AIDS. (Submitted by Scott Alan)”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. Kal Ross has been creating linocut artwork, like this piece, for a few years and created a number of designs that will be used to teach the artform at the workshop this weekend. (Submitted by Kal Ross)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. Kal Ross is a member of the queer community on P.E.I. (Tony Davis/CBC)The Red Ribbon Path will open with an inaugural walk through the installations on Nov. 1 and will stay open for the entire month. ABOUT THE AUTHORBrittany Spencer is a multi-platform journalist with CBC P.E.I. You can reach her at brittany.spencer@cbc.caWith files from Island Morning
Activism through art: PEERS Alliance hosting workshop to combat HIV/AIDS stigma
