AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT GOES WORLDWIDE

The Names Project Quilt at its inaugural display in Washington DC, October 11, 1987

(photo: Tom Alleman)

The Names Project, a US AIDS Memorial based in San Fransicso, taking the form of a huge quilt with individual 90cmxl80cm panels bearing the name of a single person lost to AIDS, has recently made the decision to launch the Quilt worldwide.

Eighty panels-from the Quilt were displayed at the 4th International Conference on AIDS in Stockholm on June 16.

The Quilt, already consisting of nearly 5,000 panels, was first displayed in the United States on the Capitol Mall in Washington, DC in October 1987 (see photo). The memorial is an on going project and panels continue to be added as an example of a compassionate response to the AIDS situation.

According to Cleve Jones, Executive Director of The NAMES Project, the goals of the Quilt are : "To illustrate the impact of the AIDS epidemic by showing the humanity behind the statistics, to provide a positive and creative means of expression for those whose lives have been touched by the epidemic and to raise vitalfunds and encourage support for people with AIDS and their loved ones".

Jones, who presented the selection of panels at the Stockholm Conference, told delegates that "AIDS is a global issue and the Quilt is a symbol of unity in the global struggle against the disease". Readers of GCN who wish to create a panel for the Quilt should send a request for further information to the National Gay Federation enclosing an SAE, at PO Box 931, Dublin 4.