Throughout Barcelona, a public art project maps site-specific memories involving people lost to AIDS

I Thought About You, an official program of the XIV International AIDS Conference, is a public project which will gather people's memories of loved ones lost to AIDS and document the memories and the locations where they occurred to reveal the stories and emotions contained by seemingly anonymous areas throughout Barcelona. I Thought About You will begin with public submissions of memories from June 1-21, with the full project coinciding with the conference from July 7-12, 2002.

"...you laughed, squeezed my hand, and said 'there are more romantic places in this city than this bus stop.' But that is still where I think of you the most..."

BARCELONA -- From the table at the Café del Sol where a brother and sister discussed where they would be in 10 years to the spot at the side of the lake in Parc de la Ciutadella where a couple first kissed, the streets, buildings and public areas of Barcelona have been the backdrop to many shared moments in the lives of people who have been affected by AIDS. And while some of the people who shared in the moments have gone, the locations remain as containers of the memories and moments they witnessed.

An official program of the XIV International AIDS Conference, I Thought About You is a public project which gathers peoples memories of loved ones lost to AIDS and documents the memories and the locations where they occurred to reveal the stories and emotions which exist throughout the streets and public areas of Barcelona.

From June 1-24, 2002, a series of public and online campaigns will be conducted to encourage residents, visitors and individuals worldwide to submit a memory or moment involving someone who has been lost to AIDS which occurred at a specific location in Barcelona. A specially designed map of the city will be created from the submissions to form a unique and deeply personal guide to the city, identifying specific locations and the memories they contain, and will be distributed throughout Barcelona and to members of the Conference from July 7-12. A series of plaques will also be placed at selected locations, with each plaque bearing an excerpt of that locations memory to allow both active participants and those who come across the project by chance to share in the memories contained by seemingly anonymous locations throughout Barcelona.

I Thought About You reveals the significance that many locations throughout Barcelona hold within the lives of those who have been affected by AIDS, and the personal stories and emotions that are contained within even the most ordinary of locations in the city," says Scott G Burnham, creator and director of I Thought About You. By revealing the landscapes of memories and emotions that people pass through each day, it is hoped that I Thought About You will bring about a greater sense of a shared environment, community, and concern as the epidemic has woven itself into the narrative of Barcelona and cities everywhere."

I Thought About You encourages people to submit personal memories of loved ones lost to AIDS which are connected to locations in Barcelona via the project website, www.ithoughtaboutyou.com. Memories involving other cities and locations may also be submitted - following the conference, the website will be expanded to allow site-specific memories of those lost to AIDS to be shared globally.

For additional information, contact:

Scott G Burnham
22 Wellington Street
London WC2E 7DD
tel (44) (0)208 281 1829

scott@ithoughtaboutyou.com

http://www.ithoughtaboutyou.com

About Scott G Burnham: Burnham is known for creating projects which encourage people to relate to the city and their environment in a different way. He has created projects for cities and organisations throughout Europe and North America, including the UrbanMade and Memory Site projects and BLUE, a World AIDS Day 2000 event created for London's Royal National Theatre.