Lawrenceville, Ga. – Sections of the internationally celebrated AIDS Memorial Quilt-the 54-ton, handmade tapestry that stands as a memorial to more than 92,000 individuals lost to AIDS-will be on view through Dec. 4 at the University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus in Lawrenceville.
The quilt display is hosted by the UGA department of student affairs for extended campuses. Visitors may view the display weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The NAMES Project Foundation, established in 1987-the international caretaker of the AIDS Memorial Quilt-works to preserve, care for and use it to foster healing, advance social justice and inspire action. The quilt began in San Francisco almost 25 years ago with a single 3-foot by 6-foot panel. Today the tapestry includes more than 47,000 panels from every state in the nation.
According to the NAMES Foundation, in a war against a disease that has no cure, the AIDS Memorial Quilt has evolved as a potent tool in the effort to educate against the lethal threat of AIDS. By revealing the humanity behind the statistics, the quilt helps teach compassion, triumphs over taboo, stigma and phobia while inspiring individuals to take direct responsibility for their own well-being and that of their family, friends and community.
Julie Rhoad, executive director of NAMES, explains, “We are eager to share the AIDS Memorial Quilt with your community, for it is unlike any memorial ever created. With teddy bears and Boy Scouts badges, love letters and photographs, this American treasure was created by people for real people who were loved and lost to AIDS. We thank the University of Georgia for their visionary efforts in hosting this event and invite you to see what wonderful healing art we have created together as a nation.”
Sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt are continuously on display across the country in schools, places of worship, community centers, businesses, corporations and a variety of other institutional settings all with the hope of making the realities of HIV and AIDS real, human and immediate. To date, more than 18 million people have seen the quilt when presented at tens of thousands of displays around the world.
For more information on the display in Lawrenceville, call 678/985-6767. For more information on The NAMES Project and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, see http://www.aidsquilt.org/ or call the national headquarters at 404/688-5500.
