Indiana University to install “Keep Going” sculpture honoring Ryan White

A sculpture honoring Ryan White will be installed at the Indiana Memorial Union next spring. During a public presentation on Dec. 6, the artist, Melanie Cooper Pennington, talked about the research, inspiration, and emotional work behind “Keep Going,” which commemorates the Indiana teen, whose fight to attend school after contracting HIV in the 1980s reshaped the national conversation on AIDS and stigma.

Pennington, a senior sculpture lecturer at IU, spent six months studying White’s life. She recalled first seeing him in the media as a child, speaking with calm courage to adults and celebrities. Revisiting his story as an adult revealed both the fear he faced and the warmth and determination he brought to every encounter.

The project was funded by public health advocate Bill Yarber, who also supported Pennington’s sculpture of Alfred Kinsey at IU. In her remarks, Pennington highlighted the key role of White’s family in her work, especially his mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, and sister Andrea White, whose input ensured the sculpture reflected how Ryan understood himself and how he chose to live his life.

According to Pennington, White-Ginder knew her son deeply because she listened to him—taking his words seriously at a time when children were rarely granted that kind of authority or trust. Pennington described that relationship as “incredibly, deeply beautiful,” saying that she related to White-Ginder as a mother herself.

When they first saw the sculpture, White-Ginder, Andrea and the sculptor shared a moment of quiet tears. “For his mother to have a body there—not his body, but Ryan taking up space—matters,” Pennington said. She added that this physical presence is central to the power of figural sculpture, which invites viewers to engage with their own bodies in relation to the work. “It’s something people relate to very easily,” she said, “because we all have bodies.” For those who knew White, she said, commemorative sculpture offers a unique gift—a way to still feel his presence, even years later.

The figure in the piece leans slightly forward, based on archival footage showing White walking, skateboarding, and spending time with friends, conveying vitality and motion. He wears an acid-wash jacket and carries a backpack, symbols of his unrealized dream to attend IU and the broader values of education, research, and empathy in confronting disease.

Creating the sculpture involved several models, life-size casting, and research, including a visit to White’s preserved bedroom at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. After restarting months of work, Pennington said the piece came together when she focused on capturing the kindness and “sparkle” remembered by those who knew him.

A small space in the sculpture will allow students to leave notes of encouragement, echoing its title. Bronze casting is underway, with installation at the Indiana Memorial Union expected in April.

About Ryan White

Ryan White was a hemophiliac from Kokomo, Indiana, who contracted HIV in the mid-1980s through contaminated blood products used to treat his condition. After being barred from attending school amid widespread fear and misinformation, White and his mother became national figures as they fought publicly for his right to an education, eventually relocating so he could attend school in Cicero, Indiana.

His case drew support from high-profile allies including Elton John and Michael Jackson and helped shift public perception of HIV/AIDS from moral panic to a public health and human rights issue. White died in 1990 at age 18, and later that year Congress passed the Ryan White CARE Act, which remains one of the largest federal programs supporting people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.