Ralph Reveals Winners of 'Fight HIV Your Way' Contest

Broadway actress Sheryl Lee Ralph (Broadway's Dreamgirls) today unveiled the winning photographs of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company's Reyataz "Fight HIV Your Way" Photography Contest.  The contest was developed to provide individuals with a way to express their feelings and emotions about their personal experience with HIV.  The grand prize winning photograph and 50 second-place photographs will be showcased in a public exhibit in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal in New York City from today until April 18. The exhibit will subsequently be displayed in select cities across the U.S., including Washington, D.C., Miami Beach, Florida, Venice Beach, California, and San Francisco, California.

The grand prize-winning photograph was submitted by retired architect Howard Grant of Oakland, California, who will be honored at a special gala opening this evening. In press notes, Grant described his experience, "I felt boxed in by concepts such as 'terminal illness,' 'damaged goods,' 'poz/neg.' The bravery and compassion of friends liberated me to pursue new paths and passions.  All I had to do was face a new direction and step out of the box." 

"Each photograph in the exhibit is a piece of art that tells a thought- provoking story about the wide variety of experiences people have with HIV today," stated Ralph, a spokesperson for the National Minority AIDS Council who also created and produced the HIV- inspired Broadway shows Divas Simply Singing! and Sometimes I Cry.  "In my own work as an artist and advocate, I encourage breaking the silence around HIV, reducing the stigmas associated with HIV, and supporting the many ways that people fight this disease each and every day.  I salute the winners of the Reyataz 'Fight HIV Your Way' Photography Contest for the hope and strength that their art inspires in me and others."

Photographs were judged based on the artists' depiction of the fight against HIV, creativity and originality, and overall quality. The expert panel of judges included Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Vincent Laforet, POZ Magazine editor-in-chief Regan Hofmann, and Clik Magazine editor-in-chief Dwight Powell. A total of 101 winning photographs will be published in a limited edition hardcover book titled In Their Own Way: A Collection of Personal Photography on Fighting HIV.

For more information on the Reyataz "Fight HIV Your Way" Photography Contest, visit www.reyatazphotocontest.com.