Freebies and swag are nothing new to art events, but visitors at this year’s New Art Dealers Alliance (Nada) fair in Miami may be surprised to receive an unexpected giveaway: Narcan and safe-sex kits. Part of Casual Safe, an ongoing initiative launched early this year by the Detroit-based arts incubator Buffalo Prescott in partnership with the Detroit Recovery Project, the free kits aim to protect fairgoers and Miami locals alike. The kits, designed by the Buffalo Prescott artist-in-residence Shaina Kasztelan, are being distributed at Nada and other locations around the city.
“Almost everyone has been affected by the opioid crisis, so it becomes crucial to make [overdose reversing treatment] Narcan more readily available, as well as to give people these other kits to ensure a safe night out,” Leto Rankine, the managing director of Buffalo Prescott, tells The Art Newspaper.
Featuring colourful, abstract designs and playful imagery like melting smiley faces, the kits leverage the power of art and culture for public service. “I want to soften the clinical and taboo association with harm reduction and reframe it as something cool and accessible,” Kasztelan says. “It was important for me to design something that grabs people’s attention and empowers them to keep themselves and their community safe.”
In addition to distributing the kits, the team is organising a panel on addiction and the importance of access to harm reduction at Nada on Thursday 5 December at 3pm. Moderated by Osman Can Yerebakan, a writer and curator (and contributor to The Art Newspaper), the conversation will also include Kasztelan and Hannah Meissner, Detroit Recovery Project’s youth programme coordinator.