Welcome! Did you know that teenagers say that some of the most effective AIDS awareness and prevention messages they have ever seen are visual messages? It's true. Imagery that captures your attention and makes you think is as much a form of communication as verbal expressions -- only it's a visual language. With so many people traveling the globe speaking in different tongues and regional dialects, a "picture that is worth 1,000 words" serves as a kind of universal visual language.

Dr. John would like to invite you to send in your best artwork with the general (or specific) theme of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention targeting your fellow peers. You may create your visual message in any medium as long as it is not larger than 8 1/2 inches by 13 inches and is reflective art (i.e., not a transparency such as a slide but instead, on a flat surface that can be easily scanned). You can also download your artwork over the internet or send via FAX or email. Dr. John is an artist by avocation and was trained as a film/video specialist at MIT. He is not saying this to impress you. Rather he wants you to know that he believes art is both personal and public -- to be enjoyed by the artist and admired by viewers in any medium and by whatever talent. He is looking for both creativity and an effective message. Dr. John believes that teen art can be a most effective tool in helping PeerCorps teachers succeed with their message.

So please think it over and contribute your best effort to us. Please only send one work per person. Sorry, your artwork cannot be returned but it will be put to good use in classroom presentations by PeerCorps teachers. In that way, your visual idea will reach many youth -- perhaps playing a role in keeping them safe and healthy, and most importantly -- free of HIV. Good luck!

To send your artwork, please call 978-665-9383 or email Dr. John at chittick@post.harvard.edu