The UK AIDS Quilt

The International Names Project AIDS Quilt is a memorial project started in San Francisco in 1985 that has spread worldwide, as friends and loved ones have created panels and testimonials to remember those they have lost.

 

Still Relevant Today

There have been dramatic and positive changes in the experience of people living with HIV since the 1980's, but the HIV epidemic continues to grow at an alarming rate.

Increasing access to prevention and treatment programmes to fight the disease continues to be a challenge, not least because stigma and discrimination continues to blight the lives of those living with the virus in the UK and worldwide.

 

As well as a creative means of remembrance, the AIDS quilt aims to educate people about HIV prevention, fight stigma and bring home the message that this is no time for complacency.

When Was it Made?
Most panels were made during the 1980s and 1990s. Very few (if any) panels have been added, since the advent of more effective treatments for HIV, in the mid-1990s.

Exhibitions 

The last exhibition of all the Quilt Panels was in May 2007 at the Museum of Science and Industry, in Manchester, but many panels have been displayed in smaller numbers at subsequent events.

It is possible for organisations to borrow some of the panels to display at their own events. The safe preservation of the Quilt is of the utmost importance and therefore strict guidelines will be given on how to display and care for the quilt when it is on loan. If you are interested in borrowing some of the panels please contact us.  

More Info

To see photos of all the panels currently housed at George House Trust please follow this link: www.aidsquilt.org.uk

The National AIDS Trust has made great efforts to bring all the UK panels together. Unfortunately, there will be some that are stored in other locations (possibly from previous exhibitions) or with other HIV organisations.