About Ivy
Ivy Kwan Arce is an artist, creative director, and HIV/AIDS advocate who has been living with HIV since 1990. A first-generation Chinese American, she began her journey into motherhood in 1999 at a time when HIV-positive pregnancy was still fraught with uncertainty. Through antiretroviral treatment during both pregnancies, she prevented mother-to-child transmission, and her two sons, Atom and Ahimsa, were both born HIV-negative. Her experience demonstrates that HIV has always affected people across every community.
Upon her diagnosis, Ivy joined ACT UP New York and became a patient of Dr. Joseph Sonnabend. Through the People with AIDS (PWA) Health Group, she became active in the Women’s Treatment Group and Pediatric Working Group, helping organize women living with HIV to demand access to life-saving medications, inclusion in clinical trials, and equitable healthcare. She also helped build and support early HIV/AIDS organizations, including the Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA) and God’s Love We Deliver.
A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design, Ivy’s first professional position was at the studio of legendary designer Milton Glaser. She has since combined design, communications, and activism, creating advocacy campaigns for numerous HIV/AIDS organizations. From 1995 to 1999, she served on the New York City HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council, helping oversee the allocation of Ryan White Title I funding for essential HIV/AIDS services.
Beginning in 2012, Ivy focused on expanding equitable access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), particularly for women. From 2021 through 2026, she organized the annual TAG + ACT UP New York Pride Health Fair, bringing together healthcare providers, advocates, and community organizations to expand access to COVID-19 and MPOX vaccinations, HIV and STI testing, harm reduction services, naloxone (Narcan), doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PEP), health education, zines, and other community resources.
She currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of Treatment Action Group (TAG), helping guide one of the world’s leading HIV and TB research and policy organizations. In 2019, Performance Space New York honored Ivy for three decades of HIV/AIDS activism, and she is the recipient of TAG’s Research in Action Award.
Today, more than three decades after her diagnosis, Ivy continues to advocate for HIV treatment, prevention, health equity, and the recognition of long-term survivors. Her work is driven by the belief that the lessons of the AIDS epidemic must continue to shape the fight for better treatment, equitable healthcare, and ultimately, a cure for AIDS.
