This summer, when we mark 40 years since the first reports of what is now known as HIV and AIDS, the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership is joining forces with Fast-Track Cities London to curate the largest display of the UK AIDS quilts in London since the early 90s.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is a precious artefact. Each of the panels commemorates lives lost to the AIDS pandemic during the 1980s and 90s. It is a public naming of loved ones lost, and a memorial for the many who died and went unnamed too. It is part of an international movement that sought to raise awareness of the impact of the AIDS pandemic and ensure that these lives would never be forgotten.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership is a coalition of charities including Positively UK, The Food Chain, Terrence Higgins Trust, Positive East, George House Trust, Waverley Care and Sahir House. Fast-Track Cities London is part of a global movement of cities to end HIV by 2030. The Mayor of London joined NHS England, London Councils and Public Health England to sign up to this commitment in 2018.
The beautiful and irreplaceable pieces of social history will be on display to the public the first two weekends of July in London at Acorn House, Gray’s Inn Rd, Kings Cross St Pancras. This display will honour the lives lost to AIDS and remind us that HIV is still with us today. It is a call to action to challenge HIV stigma, highlight what it means to live with HIV in 2021 and support those living with HIV. The quilts remind us how far the UK has come in the fight against HIV but how much there is still to be done to tackle stigma, reduce new infections, particularly in vulnerable communities, and support those living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives.
‘It’s a Sin’ cast member and HIV activist Nathaniel Hall will attend the launch event. “In the era of HIV medication and with all our eyes firmly on the goal of ending new transmissions by 2030 it is important to take time out to reflect on our recent history. The quilt is our community’s connection to the past, to the lives cut tragically short by HIV. In the midst of another global pandemic, taking a moment to pause with the quilt reminds us of the human cost of HIV both here in the U.K. and across the world, whilst allowing us space to dream of a future free from HIV.” – Nathaniel
The author and activist Paul Burston remembers gathering with others to make a quilt panel for his friend Vaughan Michael Williams: “I first met Vaughan in 1987. He was the first person with HIV I knew personally – the first of far too many. Someone suggested we make a quilt panel in his memory. It was very emotional. It was people coming together to express their love and shared sense of loss. The quilt is such a powerful reminder of all the lives lost to AIDS. We need to remember them”.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “Since the virus was first identified 40 years ago, HIV/AIDS has had a devastating impact on communities in London and across the world. Millions have tragically died, and many have had to live with the stigma of what was once a terminal diagnosis. These quilts serve both as a memorial to those we have lost, as well as a reminder of the suffering that is still faced today. Infections continue and those living with undiagnosed HIV are some of the most vulnerable members of our society. I have pledged to do everything in my power to end new transmissions of HIV in London by 2030, and I am confident that we can achieve this if we continue to work together.“
when: 3rd & 4th and 10th & 11th July 2021
where: Acorn House, 314-320 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8DP
Get your free ticket for the event here
