THE NAMES PROJECTMEMORIAL AIDS QUILTREMEMBRANCE, ART, AND

EDUCATION

WHAT ISTHE MEMORIAL QUILT?

THE IDEA

THE PROBLEMWITH DYING

MEMORIESCREATED IN

PANELS

Tens of thousands of coffin-sized panels make up the 12’ x 12’ blocks of The Quilt. Cleve Jones made the first panel of The Quilt, for his close friend Marvin Feldman.

MEMORIESCREATED IN

PANELS

The Quilt, on display at the mall in Washington, D.C. Its massive size makes its message hard to ignore, which was something Cleve Jones intended.

MEMORIESCREATED IN

PANELSA Center Square is present at every viewing of The Quilt, for patrons to write down any thoughts, feelings, or messages they may have.

MEMORIESCREATED IN

PANELSLetters accompanied many of the panels that were sent in. This person included their message in the panel itself.

MEMORIESCREATED IN

PANELSAwareness was raised when celebrities like Rock Hudson were honored with panels for The Quilt

MEMORIESCREATED IN

PANELSThe NAMES Project will take multiple panels for one person. Pedro Zamora, who gained recognition for coming out as HIV+ on MTV’s The Real World, has 21 panels.

MEMORIESCREATED IN

PANELSSome quilts lacked last names or any name at all. Some victims didn’t want their families to know they’d died of AIDS or even that they were gay, and there were family members who didn’t want others to know they’d had a loved one who died of AIDS.

THE QUILTAS INSPIRATIONNAMES Project Chapters and other mediums of memorial

21 NAMES chapters currently reside in the United States, helping to collect panels, organize viewings, and raise funds for AIDS organizations in their communities.

NAMES CHAPTERS

The NAMES Project Book of Letters was published in 1992, and contains the letters that accompanies panels submitted for The Quilt

BOOK OF LETTERS

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt was a documentary, released in 1989. It is a collection of profiles, depicting people remembered on The Quilt.

COMMON THREADS

EDUCATIONWHAT WE NEED TODAY

Although there is still a negative stigma and misinformation surrounding AIDS in many communities, it is not the new “mystery” disease it was in the 1980s.

Needs Have Changed

Facts about HIV infection and transmission are available, testing is available, so why is this rate of infection still so high? Have people become complacent or forgotten how serious HIV is? Is it just adolescent/young adult “invincibility” syndrome?

Why So High?

People who don’t seek out information don’t learn anything. Leading by example and holding community leaders and physicians responsible is key.

Awareness

AMERICANS AGES 13-29 ARE EXPERIENCING A RAPID RATE OF

INFECTIONApproximately 48% of adolescents infected with HIV are unaware they have the virus.

KNOW YOUR STATUSRAISE AWARENESSIt is important that EVERYONE help foster a “Know Your Status” environment, for the benefit of those within and outside of the LGBTQ community.