Ranney Upper and Middle School Remove Art to Recognize World AIDS Day

Feb. 10, 2009 - PRLog -- TINTON FALLS, NJ (Dec. 11, 2008) – Dozens of students in Ranney Middle and Upper School stripped bare the school’s hallways and classrooms on Friday, December 5, removing most artwork and covering the larger, more cumbersome works with reams of plain, brown paper.  The move, which was done under the careful supervision of the Ranney Art Department, was part of the school’s first Day Without Art or DWA, a day designed to increase awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reminding students of the huge impact AIDS has had on the art community, and consequently, their own lives.

Event organizer Kate Greenberg, Chair of Ranney’s Art Department, says National DWA began on December 1, 1989 as a day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis. Now, 20 years later, DWA has grown into a massive collaborative project in which an estimated 8,000 national and international museums, galleries, art centers, AIDS service organizations, libraries, high schools and colleges participate.

“It’s safe to say we covered more than 500 works of art, between public areas and class spaces,” Ms. Greenberg said. “In one teacher’s classroom alone, approximately 75 pieces of art, including an extensive collection of film and theater posters, were covered. It was a huge undertaking, but one which the students embraced wholeheartedly.”

The teams of volunteers who help take down and set up the art were given specially-designed red t-shirts made by Junior Ben Weakley (Rumson). The remainder of the student body was invited to donate $5.00 to wear red on Monday, December 8, the actual Day Without Art. The resulting sea of red t-shirts stood in sharp contrast to the barren backdrop of empty walls.  All proceeds from the “wear red” fundraiser were donated to AMfar (The America Foundation for AIDS Research), one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations conducting AIDS research.  

Also as part of the day’s observance, large 12’ x 12’ sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, on loan from the Names Project Foundation, were displayed in the school and later in the day, guest speakers from Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s A team, including Susan Bataille, R.N. and patient information coordinator; Duanne Meissner, dental assistant; and Dental Coordinator Glen Ramsey addressed a special assembly on HIV/AIDS, its causes, prevention, and treatment, and spoke with great compassion about the patients for whom they care.


Founded in 1960, the Ranney School is an independent, college preparatory day school located in historic Tinton Falls, New Jersey, serving more than 800 boys and girls from three-year-old Beginners through the 12th grade.  Under its motto “knowledge, vision, honor,” Ranney School strives to provide an exceptional academic experience in a caring environment, emphasizing modern methods of instruction, small class size and traditional educational values.

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