Avram Finkelstein is a graphic artist, gay rights activist, and member of the AIDS art collective Gran Fury .

Finkelstein describes himself as a "red diaper baby ", raised by leftist parents who encouraged him to develop an interest in radical politics. He cut his chops protesting the Vietnam War in the 1960s, and has worked on many other activist causes since, including becoming an early member of the AIDS advocacy group ACT-UP. In 1987 he created the "Silence=Death " anti-AIDS logo, used by ACT-UP and others. In 1994, in preparation for the Gay Games in New York City, he wrote a tract for ACT-UP, entitled "Welcome to New York", which asked gay men and lesbians who attended the games and other festivities surrounding the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots to take action to stop the AIDS epidemic.