Ivy Kwan Arce

Ivy Kwan Arce is a first-generation Chinese American HIV survivor, HIV/AIDS activist and artist. She is a surviving member of the People with Aids (PWA) Health Group and was part of grassroots organizations such as the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA) and God's Love We Deliver. Today Kwan Arce is a longstanding activist with groups such as ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and TAG (Treatment Action Group). At the time, AIDS was widely perceived as a gay man's disease, and there was no medical HIV/AIDS diagnosis for women. As a result, when she tested positive, her doctor had neither the experience nor the expertise to treat her. He suggested she go to ACT UP because it was one of the few places fighting on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS. Despite feeling invisible, Kwan Arce dedicated herself to ACT UP and has remained with the organization for over 30 years. In the early years, their activism led to a formal definition of AIDS for women so they could be medically recognized in order to receive lifesaving treatment.

Art has always been a part of Kwan Arce's activism, and she has created materials for campaigns in nearly every organization she has worked with. In 2019, Kwan Arce was honored for her three decades of activism by the Performance Space New York. In 2021, Kwan Arce was an honoree for the Treatment Action Group (TAG) Research in Action Awards, which honors activists, scientists, philanthropists, and creative artists who've made extraordinary contributions in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C.

Personal life Kwan Arce is married with two children. Both children were born HIV-negative due to medication preventing mother-to-child transmission.