This June–July, Yabu Pushelberg – the international creative design studio founded by George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg in 1980, with studios in New York and Toronto – will present Don’t Stop. Stand Up!, a multi-week exhibition and cultural programming series exploring the history of LGBTQIA+ identity, activism, and resilience in response to HIV/AIDS through photography, archival works, cultural artifacts, conversation, and community gathering.
Presented at Yabu Pushelberg’s New York studio in partnership with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the exhibition marks the studio’s first collaboration with the United Nations (UN); it traces the social, political, and human history of the AIDS epidemic and highlights the UN’s goal to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 through public engagement and social mobilization.
From June 19 to July 18, this month-long exhibition and programming series aims to connect with diverse audiences across New York City’s culture, design, fashion, media, and advocacy sectors, engaging local communities to participate in panel discussions and take personal action to help end the AIDS epidemic.
The Exhibition
Don’t Stop. Stand Up! profiles the courageous activists and communities who shaped New York City’s sexual liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s, fought back against the early devastation of the AIDS epidemic, and drove the evolution of queer visibility. Opening just ahead of the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS (June 22–23), the exhibition amplifies a global call to action to remind the world that AIDS is not over, and that ending AIDS by 2030 is only achievable if we recommit to accelerate progress, free of stigma and discrimination.
The exhibition will feature:
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Andy, Candy, and Me – photography from the personal archive of Tony Mansfield (photographer unknown), including images of Andy Warhol, Candy Darling, and members of The Factory.
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AIDS Is Not Over – a selection of panels from the US AIDS Memorial Quilt and historic videos from the UNAIDS archives.
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AIDS at The New School: What is Remembered? – curated by New School alum Stan Walden, this collection juxtaposes historical artifacts with contemporary perspectives to showcase the university’s unique history of art-making, education, and care during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Your Shame Bores Me – a body of work by queer artist and photographer Christopher Sherman that explores contemporary queer identity, self-expression, and the LGBTQIA+ reawakening of today.
“For more than four decades, our studio has designed spaces and objects that foster a more beautiful, harmonious world,” said Glenn Pushelberg. “With Don’t Stop. Stand Up!, we’re challenging our creative, and professional communities to mobilize their collective influence to advance the end of AIDS,” George Yabu added.
“Ending AIDS by 2030 demands a profound remobilization of governments and communities—a resurgence that must ignite during Don’t Stop. Stand Up!” said Vinay Saldanha, Director of the UNAIDS New York Office.
Salon Series
Yabu Pushelberg’s Salon Series is an ongoing cultural platform of intimate invite-only talks, panels, and gatherings hosted at the studio’s New York and Toronto locations. Bringing together voices from design, art, fashion, activism, and public life to reflect on the ideas shaping contemporary culture, the platform will anchor public engagement throughout the Don’t Stop. Stand Up! exhibition and related events.
The programming will debut on the evening of June 18 with an exclusive preview of the exhibition and an inaugural Salon conversation featuring Vinay Saldanha, Director of the UNAIDS New York Office, Regan Hofmann, UNAIDS Senior Advisor, and Glenn Pushelberg. Their discussion will examine progress in the global HIV response while addressing the continued impact of HIV among queer communities, women, children, and Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
Additional programming will include
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Reception to mark the closing of the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS: Hosted by MAN OF PARTS, this reception will mark the closing of the UNGA High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, welcoming leaders from the UN, governments, and creative communities to commemorate renewed global commitments to end AIDS by 2030. By invitation only.
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Special live event celebrating 2SLGBTQIA+ voices, hosted by Christopher Sherman (July 9th*): An evening of 15 live readings featuring a diverse lineup of guest contributors, exploring the intersection of sex and sexuality through short stories, photography, and video art.
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HIV/AIDS & The Community panel discussion (July 14th*): The evening will feature two panel discussions exploring the lasting impact of HIV/AIDS on both the design community and the broader LGBTQ+ community, connecting the early years of the epidemic and activism to today’s conversations around U=U, PrEP, and queer leadership. The first panel, moderated by Jon Otis, IIDA | IDEC, Professor of Interior Design at Pratt Institute and a Board Member of DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation), will feature Ed Farrell of The Alpha Workshops and designer Jamie Drake, Chair of The Alpha Workshops and the New York Community Trust, discussing HIV/AIDS and its impact on the design community. Following a brief intermission, the second panel will focus on HIV and the broader community, featuring Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Chief Medical Officer at Callen-Lorde, and Eric Sawyer, co-founder of ACT UP, with a moderator to be announced. The evening will conclude with a cocktail reception and community mixer.
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Rainbow Railroad fundraiser: Hosted by Tribù and West Out East, this private cocktail reception will celebrate the closing of the exhibition. The evening serves to support Rainbow Railroad, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to helping LGBTQI+ people who face violence and oppression simply because of who they love to access lives free from persecution.
*Contact yabupushelbergrsvp@karlaotto.com for event details and to RSVP
The Don’t Stop, Stand Up exhibition will be open to the public from June 19 to July 18, between 12PM to 7PM, Tuesday through Saturday weekly, at Yabu Pushelberg’s 66 White Street gallery in Tribeca, NYC. Daily admission is free; reservations can be made via Eventbrite.
About Yabu Pushelberg
Yabu Pushelberg designs places and products: immersive environments, engaging destinations, and thoughtfully crafted objects. George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg founded the studio in 1980, initially focusing on interior design, and have since evolved it into a multidisciplinary practice addressing multiple layers of the human experience. With offices in New York and Toronto and a team of over one hundred creatives and professionals, the studio specializes in a range of disciplines—from architecture to interiors, from landscape to lighting, from furniture to objects and graphics—extending its focus well beyond aesthetics to consider how people feel within these spaces.
IG: @yabupushelberg
About Christopher Sherman
Christopher Sherman is an artist, photographer, and creative director whose work unravels the intersections of image-making, culture, and the endlessly horny human condition. With over twenty years of practice, Sherman has moved fluidly between fashion, commerce, and art—building a body of photography that is both intimate and confrontational, polished and raw.
Sherman’s lens is guided by curiosity and desire, exposing the charged spaces where vulnerability, pleasure, and performance collide. His work resists shame, challenges cultural scripts, and asks what happens when beauty and horniness are allowed to co-exist unapologetically.
Alongside collaborations with Interview Magazine, Saint Laurent, Vogue, Saks Fifth Avenue, Wall Street Journal, Audemars Piguet, Numéro Berlin, and Brother Vellies, Sherman creates a parallel universe of personal projects that revel in play and provocation. He is the founder of Have A Horny Day, The Horny Newsletter, Horny Home Videos, and The Horny Podcast—ongoing platforms that frame horniness not as trivial, but as a radical artistic and cultural practice.
Sherman’s photographs invite audiences to look longer, feel deeper, and surrender to intensity—transforming the familiar into something alive, erotic, and newly possible.
Based in Toronto Canada, Sherman believes everyone should have the opportunity to explore their own pleasure – and Have A Horny Day.
Website: www.christophersherman.co , www.haveahornyday.com
Contact: christopherisherman@gmail.com
About Callen-Lorde
From Stonewall, through the ongoing AIDS epidemic, to today, Callen-Lorde has been the global leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare and has shaped what high quality and comprehensive healthcare should look like for the communities we serve, regardless of ability to pay. We are also continuously pioneering research, advocacy and education to drive positive change around the world, because we believe healthcare is a human right.
Website: https://callen-lorde.org/
Contact: press@callen-lorde.org; communications@callen-lorde.org
About The Alpha Workshops
Dedicated to creating beauty and changing lives, The Alpha Workshops is the nation’s first nonprofit organization to provide decorative arts education and employment for adults with visible and invisible disabilities, including HIV/AIDS. The organization was founded in 1995 and modeled on the famed Omega Workshops, the Wiener Werkstätte, the Bauhaus, and the American Arts & Crafts movement. Our award-winning interior products and finishes adorn numerous prestigious spaces, including Saks Fifth Avenue, The Woolworth Tower, Convene, the Polynesian at the POD Hotel, Gotham Hall, and Gracie Mansion. All sales proceeds fund our educational and employment mission. The Alpha Workshops proudly serves the vulnerable communities of New York City.
Website: alphaworkshops.org
Contact: media@alphaworkshops.org
About DIFFA
DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation) mobilizes the design industries’ creativity, influence, and resources to improve lives and advance health equity nationwide. DIFFA grants funds to organizations providing life-saving care and access to healthcare for individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as programs addressing food insecurity, housing instability, LGBTQ+ support, and mental health services.
Since its founding, DIFFA has awarded more than $59 million to hundreds of nonprofits across the country—responding to evolving community health needs and helping build stronger, healthier, and more inclusive communities. DIFFA proudly holds a 4-star, 98% rating from Charity Navigator, demonstrating transparency, accountability, and donor trust.
Through the power of design, advocacy, and collective action, DIFFA continues to make a DIFFArence.
Website: diffa.org
About Rainbow Railroad
Rainbow Railroad is an international human rights NGO that helps at-risk LGBTQI+ people worldwide find safety from violence and persecution. Since its founding in 2006, Rainbow Railroad has helped nearly 50,000 LGBTQI+ individuals in over 100 countries through emergency relocation, crisis response, cash assistance, and other forms of vital support.
Headquartered in Toronto and New York, the global organization works to create pathways to safety for those who face state-sponsored or community-based violence due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
IG: @rainbowrailroad
About UNAIDS
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. UNAIDS provides the strategic direction, advocacy, coordination and technical support needed to catalyze and connect leadership from governments, and communities to deliver life-saving HIV services.
IG: @unaidsglobal
Contact: communications@unaids.org
About MAN OF PARTS
MAN OF PARTS is a Canadian-born, post-national design brand that reflects the perspectives of globally minded individuals. By combining modern aesthetics with a considered service approach, MAN OF PARTS aims to embody how people define ‘luxury’ today. Designs from Yabu Pushelberg, Sebastian Herkner, Christophe Delcourt, Gregor Hildebrandt, Simone Coste, Workshop/APD, Philippe Malouin and Osvaldo Tenório create a diverse design aesthetic, drawing inspiration from around the globe. MAN OF PARTS is available through exceptional stockists of modern design from Dubai to Dublin, Bangkok to Miami Beach.
IG: @manofparts
About Duggal Visual Solutions
Duggal Visual Solutions specializes in producing compelling visual experiences that transform environments. As an industry leader, Duggal turns ideas into impactful realities, integrating innovative technology with the widest array of in-house capabilities. With a blend of craft, scale, and storytelling, Duggal delivers everything from bespoke installations to global rollouts of multimedia experiential design, stadium-size installations, world-class events, and headline exhibitions.