Events

What's on in London: UK AIDS Memorial Quilt

Part of the largest community art project in the world.

Gaydar

31 May 2025 — 2 min read

In response to the AIDS pandemic, Cleve Jones formed The NAMES Project in 1985. The project invited people to create textile panels to commemorate friends, family and loved ones lost during the pandemic. The individual panels were then sewn together to create larger quilts.

These larger quilts were often shown outdoors as a form of protest to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. The displays often included a reading of all the names upon the panels.

While the project began in the US, groups around the world began to create their own local quilts in what has now been recognised as the largest community art project in the world.

The UK chapter of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London from 12-16 June.

The UK quilt was begun in the late-80s by Alistair Hulme, who had witnessed a display of the quilt on a visit to San Francisco. The UK quilt represents nearly 400 people who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS in the UK.

While we now have the tools to effectively treat and prevent the transmission of HIV, access to medication varies dramatically around the world and the virus continues to devastate the most marginalised and vulnerable.