An arts-based collaborative intervention to promote medical male circumcision as a South African HIV and AIDS prevention strategy

This article addresses the extent to and ways in which an arts-based learning intervention can be regarded as transformative specifically with regard to the quality of student learning across the domains of academic enhancement, civic learning, personal growth, and through engaging with social advocacy. This article focuses on a collaborative project between Artist Proof Studio, a community art centre, and Sonke Gender Justice, a gender advocacy organisation, in a series of HIV prevention and advocacy interventions. The project addresses the question: “ Can an advocacy campaign for Medical Male Circumcision (MMC), with its complex messaging, be effective in communicating with South African young men?” This article however, responds to the question “How can the visual arts be used to develop a communication strategy for the promotion of MMC and what influence does this have on the students involved in the project and their uptakeof MMC as an HIV prevention strategy?” The article contends the the 'visual voice' expressed by the students as 'change agents' led to self-reflection and behaviour change with some of the student participants undergoing MMC. It also highlights the value of art-based methods as a catalysing and empowering strategy for social communication