National GalleryHosts Business After Hours
(L-R) CaymanAIDS Foundation representatives Linda Bush and Dean Miller withLinda McField.
The works of the late Keith Haring provideda vibrant backdrop for a discussion of AIDS in the workplace,when the National Gallery hosted the Chamber of Commerce's BusinessAfter Hours on Monday, December 10.
Some 80 businesspeople, artists, AIDS activistsand public health officials attended the event, which featuredbrief presentation by the Governor's wife, Mrs Suzanne Smith.Other speakers included Cayman AIDS Foundation representativesLinda Bush and Dean Miller.
Noting that the infection rate in the Caribbeanis second only to Africa's, Mrs Smith shared her personal experienceof the disease's effect on life in the southern part of that continent.Widespread education, she stressed, was needed to prevent a similarhuman disaster in the Cayman Islands.
Mrs Bush supported this statement, addingthat particular emphasis was needed in the workplace where AIDS-sufferersstill faced aggressive discrimination.
Her colleague, Mr Miller, concluded theevening by describing the AIDS Foundation's work to support personswith the illness and their families.
Chamber Vice-President Sophia Harris thankedthe gallery for hosting the event. She said the works of Mr Haring,who died of AIDS in the early 1990s, were a fitting expressionof the talent that is being lost to the disease around the world.
This is the first such event to be heldat the National Gallery since its recent designation as a Chamberof Commerce associate member.