AIDS Memorial Quilt

The NAMES Project’s AIDS Memorial Quilt is one of the world’s most visible and effective memorials to the victims of AIDS. It consists of an ever-growing number of three-by-six-foot cloth panels, each devoted to the memory of an individual victim. Today the quilt includes over 47,000 panels from twenty-nine countries, spanning 1,293,300 square feet. While smaller parts of the quilt are on display in different parts of the world, the whole quilt has been shown in its entirety four times on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Segments of the quilt are on permanent display in Atlanta, GA.

The quilt works as two memorials in one: a national memorial of epic proportions, and a series of personal, grassroots commemorations. The panels are meant to be celebrations of the victims’ lives, rather than a comment on their deaths. They name individuals and present artifacts of their lives, such as pictures, symbols, stories and messages. The quilt has been credited with creating a community of shared loss, making information on AIDS more accessible, and bridging gaps between gay and straight communities.

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References

The Names Project, official website
External Link

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Discussions

Discussion for AIDS Memorial Quilt

The AIDS Memorial Quilt derives much of its power from its ability to integrate individual and collective memory. Importantly, the quilt recognizes victims as individuals. Families, friends…

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Design of Aids Memorial Quilt

The inspiration for the AIDS Memorial Quilt came during a 1985 remembrance march for the former Mayor and City Supervisor of San Francisco, George Moscone…

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Related Resources

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