Visitors heading out to Beijing’s 798 Art District today may not be aware that December 1 is World AIDS Day, or that it’s the 20th Day Without Art, a nationally observed day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis — including the temporary closure of many galleries and museum — inaugurated in New York City in 1989.

But thanks to ChART Contemporary — a provocative, nonprofit platform for curatorial projects and educational programs — they soon will. ChART and their youth brigade, the Young Guerrilla Informers, have partnered with the Beijing World Youth Academy to organize an afternoon of events in 798 that includes educational programs, temporary gallery closures, and the distribution of red AIDS ribbons and stickers — all designed to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS.

The event has brought together many of 798’s most prominent venues, including: Beijing Commune, Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, Faurschou Gallery, Galleria Continua, Iberia Center for Contemporary Art, Tang Contemporary Art, Xindong Cheng Gallery, Yuanfen New Media Art Center, and Timzone 8 Bookstore and Café, all of which are participating.

ChART’s latest project could not be more apropos: According to China Daily, the number of new HIV/AIDS cases in Beijing reported during the first five months of 2009 saw a nearly 22 percent increase over last year’s figures. “We can’t change the world overnight,” say ChART Contemporary’s founders, sisters Megan and KC Vienna Connolly, “but we keep trying.”