Being positive about being HIV-positive : tacking stigma and misinformation through theatre-based research

Abstract

The research project ‘Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture’ (AMASS) has involved partners in the development and implementation of various arts-based studies with different social groups. While planning for the AMASS testbed, the University of Malta opted to work on a different societal challenge for each experiment. The testbed covered areas as diverse as health, migration, urban development and gentrification, intellectual disability and challenges faced by the elderly. This variety allows for a broader reach and dissemination of results amongst different communities and stakeholders in the country. Reaching more communities potentially gives more publicity to the goals of socially engaged arts, hence helping to give social engagement a more strategic role in cultural discourse and policy on a national level.