World AIDS Day: Sex Positivity Saved Lives

Before the internet, a late-night public-access show in New York did something unexpected: it talked about safe sex, loudly, at the height of the AIDS crisis. On World AIDS Day, The Broad in downtown Los Angeles looks back at that show with an evening of film clips and conversation. It is a good pick if you are scanning upcoming events Los Angeles has on offer for the first week of December and want something more thoughtful than a standard screening.

When: Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM Where: The Broad, 221 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Price: Free (tickets required)

What the evening covers

The program centers on Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story, an HBO documentary about Robin Byrd, whose boundary-pushing public-access program ran for roughly 600 episodes. Byrd mixed go-go dancers and special guests with steady messages about freedom, inclusion and free speech. By the early 1980s her audience included many gay men, just as a mysterious disease with no known treatment began to devastate their community. Her directive for the time was simple: safe sex saves lives.

The night is built from highlight clips of the film, followed by a discussion. Co-directors Jyllian Gunther and Stephanie Schwam, editor Jeremy Stulberg and sexologist Annie Sprinkle, who contributed to the film, will be on stage. Sprinkle is a feminist artist, filmmaker and performance artist who has spent decades expanding the conversation around sex, gender and ecology. Robin Byrd herself will not be attending.

Know before you go

The Broad closes at 5 PM on Tuesdays, then reopens its doors at 7:15 PM for the program. The collection exhibition, Has the myth been shattered, reopens for 40 minutes after the talk ends. Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror Room, the third-floor collection galleries and The Shop at The Broad will not be open for the event.

Tickets are free, but a free ticket does not guarantee a seat, so The Broad recommends arriving early. General admission to the museum is always free, which makes this one of the easier cultural outings among the things happening in Los Angeles that week. Visitor policies can change, so check the official event page before you go.

Getting there

The Broad sits on Grand Avenue in Downtown, steps from Walt Disney Concert Hall and Grand Park. Metro's Civic Center/Grand Park and Pershing Square stations are both a short trip away, and the museum's own visitor information page covers the details for planning your trip.

More arts programming is listed in our arts and culture section, and you can browse other happenings in Downtown.