From the UK’s 1980-90s AIDS epidemic to contemporary experiences of HIV in the Global South, Tenderness and Rage explores the history of HIV and today’s major global health challenge through stories of protest and care, photography, film and archival material. This new display opens at Wellcome Collection on 29 May 2026.
Across two rooms, Tenderness and Rage reveals how activist groups and volunteer-led organisations have supported and campaigned for the dignity and human rights of those living with HIV and spotlights the often-overlooked experience of women living with HIV in the UK and globally.
The campaigning activities of activist group ACT UP London (1989-1993) are captured by photographer Gordon Rainsford as they protested at the Houses of Parliament and in Trafalgar Square, London. ACT UP influenced the pharmaceutical company Wellcome Foundation to reduce the price of the first AIDS/HIV treatment, known as AZT. Wellcome Foundation initially sold the drug at a prohibitively high price to widespread criticism. ACT UP London reformed in 2014 to campaign for universal access to healthcare to end the HIV pandemic.
Gideon Mendel’s series The Ward (1993) tells the stories of patients on the Broderip and Charles Bell wards at Middlesex Hospital, London. The series documents the experiences of Ian, Steven, John and Andre who, among many other young gay men, faced an early and painful death in the absence of available treatment. They agreed for their care and daily life in hospital to be photographed in the context of the significant societal stigma and public fear.
Words and photos by six people living with HIV have been selected from the work of around 200 participants who have contributed to the collaborative global photo-storytelling project Through Positive Eyes (2008–present). Led by the University of California, Los Angeles Art & Global Health Center and Gideon Mendel, the project aims to combat the stigma that persists around HIV and AIDS.
The frequently marginalised experiences of women living with HIV are highlighted through the work of peer support groups featured in the display. The collective Catwalk4Power advocates for migrant and global majority women living with HIV in the UK and around the world through creative community-based activity. The south London HIV care centre, The Landmark, pioneered people-centred approaches to care, support and community. Founder of the 4M Network of Mothers Living with HIV, Angelina Namiba invites us to think about the experience of pregnancy and birth while living with HIV through a ‘Memory Store’ prepared for her daughter.
Tenderness and Rage curator, Adam Rose said: “Wellcome Collection aims to give voice to health experiences that have been overlooked. In surfacing lesser-known stories of those living with AIDS or HIV, the voices presented in Tenderness and Rage highlight the vital role of activism and intimacy in asking uncomfortable questions of those in power and advocating for dignity, rights and healthcare.”
