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New Orleans NO/AIDS Walk
Completes Another Milestone!

On Sun., Sept. 20, despite heavy rains and the threat of tropical storm Hermine, thousands of walkers were led out of Audobon Park under beautiful sunny skies.

Preliminary figures indicate that New Orleans NO/AIDS Walk grossed approximately $260,000. The top individuals were Rip Naquin-Delain, $7,589 (winner for the last six years, he has raised $55,612 in the last eight years); Ken Barnes/Roger Ogden, $2,300; and, Susan Gibeault, $2,224. Top teams were Team NO/AIDS, $6,713; The Gap, $6,403; and, Tulane University, $5,382. The Chancellor's Cup went to Tulane University and the Principal's Cup to Metairie Park Country Day School.

"We are extremely proud of the support shown by the community for this wonderful event, especially considering the omninous weather we woke up to on Walk Day," stated Jo Ann Moinet and Gabe Nassar, co-chairs of NO/AIDS Walk '98. "We strongly encourage those who were unable to make it to the park to submit any outstanding pledges and donations to NO/AIDS Task Force, 1407 Decatur St., New Orleans, LA 70116. We still have plenty of incentives, including baseball caps, sweatshirts and signed, limited-edition posters to be rewarded for teams and individual pledges collected."

Shauna Dunn, executive director, also stressed the importance of meeting the budgeted goal of this year's NO/AIDS Walk, which is $335,000. She hopes that in the next few weeks, with continued contributions, NO/AIDS Task Force will meet this critical goal. Proceeds raised from the Walk contribute no only to the vital programs and services of NO/AIDS Task Force, but to other AIDS service organizations in the form of WALK grants.

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Committee Members Sought
for 1999 AIDS Candlelight Memorial Walk

AIDS Candlelight Memorial Walk co-chair Aaron Folse is requesting volunteers to serve on the 1999 committee.

The committee will help develop and promote the walk which is planned for May, 1999.

During the Candlelight Memorial Walk, individuals celebrate the lives of those whose life has been taken by AIDS. Holding candles, participants walk silently through the French Quarter. Many will carry photographs of loved ones who have died. The walk helps to raise community awareness and provides an outlet for loss and grief through this annual ceremony.

Those interested in serving on this committee should contact Aaron Folse at 504.454.7178. The next scheduled committee meeting is Oct. 1.

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Paintings & Drawings By J. B. Harter
at the Lesbian & Gay Community Center

The Lesbian and Gay Community Center is proud to announce the opening of "New Works: Paintings and Drawings" by J. B. Harter on Sat., Oct. 10, from 6:30-8:30pm.

Harter's luminous works feature male nudes in a variety of situations. In some, single figures are emblematic, standing alone in a self-contained ambiguity, vessels for other people's fantasies. In others, the interaction of two or more figures suggests stories unfolding and intriguing relationships that invite the viewer's imagination to explore the scenarios.

"The development of my art has paralleled my homoerotic exploration, " says Harter. "As I discovered aspects of the Gay world I incorporated them into my paintings and drawings. My translation of the Gay world into artistic imagery defined for me what I was learning. Each-art and lifestyle-became a part of the other."

In 1997, Harter's book, Encounters with the Nude Male, was published. "Until then, only a handful of people had seen any of my works. Concern about the reaction of my employers and my immediate family kept me from showing the imagery or 'coming out' to a broad audience before that time.

"Once the book came out, however, there could be no stuffing me back in the closet. When people asked where all this work had been, I'd say 'In the closet. Literally.'"

Raised in Louisville, KY, Harter has lived in New Orleans for over thirty years. As a museum curator from 1967 to 1991, he designed and put toegther numerous exhibits for the Louisiana State Museum. Now, painting is his principal occupation and because reaction to his first book has been so positive, plans are underway for a second related publication.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of artwork from this show will be donated by the artist to the Lesbian and Gay Community Center. The center is located at 816 N. Rampart St.; call 504.522.1103 to confirm daily exhibit hours. The exhibition will run through Nov. 8.

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Rayne as Angel

Local artist Frank J. Gebbia, and MRB's male dancer, Rayne Fanveare, have collaborated on a project to help benefit AIDS research in the form of a painting depicting Rayne as an angel.

The portrait is a mixed media, four feet by five feet and was displayed for a short time at Fischer-Gambino, located at 607 Royal St. The portrait has been valued at $10,000.

A gentleman from the Bible Belt offered to buy the portait if Frank J. would agree to cover a certain part of the anatomy. Frank J. refused.

Both the artist and the model have settled on a $7,500 price. Because it is copyrighted, posters will be made available and some will be donated to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Fischer-Gambino has a huge list of names ready to receive the $60 poster when they are released some time this year or early next year. The posters will be made in a new color process where the effect is three-dimensional.

While the portrait took nine months to complete, the duo started their project three years earlier when they first met. "It all came about when I was commissioned to do a series of angel paintings for a calendar," said Frank J. "Another guy was scheduled to be one of the angels, and because of him, I met Rayne. As fate would have it, Rayne turned out to be the model. Must be karma!"

There will be eleven more portraits, twelve in all, which will be used for a Rayne calendar.

For more information, call Frank J. at 504.245.4025.

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25th Annual Algiers Point Tour
of Homes & Gardens

Algiers Point Association's 25th Annual Tour of Homes and Gardens, Sun., Oct. 18, will showcase ten historic homes as part of a celebration of art and architecture in the National and Local Historic District neighborhood. The Sunday afternoon on Algiers Point, located on the West Bank across the river from the French Quarter, which can be reached by the Canal St. ferry or by following signs from the Gen. DeGaulle exit of the Crescent City Connection, also features an art festival and sale sponsored by Art in Algiers, or ARTinA, a consortium of Algiers-based artists and craftspeople. October festivities, which begin at noon, will cap the day at the Trinity Lutheran Church at Olivier St.

House tour tickets, at $10 per person, go on sale at 11am at the Belleville St. Condominiums located at the corner of Belleville and Pelican Sts. next to the Algiers Point Library. Ticket sales end at 4pm.

The free ARTinA celebration begins at 11am in McDonough Park at Verret and Alix Sts.

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