To share the story of the struggle against HIV/AIDS and inspire new generations of activists in the fight for a just future, the National AIDS Memorial partners with organizations worldwide to share our message with a larger audience.
Our community partnership with the NYC AIDS Memorial brought the power of AIDS Memorial Quilt panel-making workshops to the Big Apple, allowing New Yorkers to work with Gert "the Mother of the AIDS Quilt" McMullin and honor loved ones lost to HIV and AIDS.
“Dozens of artists, designers, activists, volunteers, friends, and family members joined us and (Gert McMullin) as we engaged in cross-generational conversation, continuing the intention of the activists who first imagined the Quilt—to inform, to share, and to build community,” the NYC AIDS Memorial said about the workshops on social media.
“It has been some time since I have been at a panel-making workshop that had so many panels completed and was constantly active. The cutting, pinning and sewing never stopped. Nor did the emotions, the laughter and the tears.
Art museums have traditionally been difficult for us to get more than one or two blocks of quilt on display, much less have the space for dozens of tables, sewing machines and volunteers. In additio,n their display went out into their hallways and into additional rooms. Several informational videos were playing constantly and displayed alongside the Quilt was a large display of artists works (all who had died of AIDS). The NYC AIDS Memorial people and their volunteers did a beautiful job,” said Gert.
During the free-to-the-public workshops, which ran from March 29th to 30th, attendees participated in the Quilt panel-making process at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) Flatiron Studio in Manhattan. The workshops were a part of SVA’s exhibitions TO LOVE–TO DIE; TO FIGHT. TO LIVE. Art and Activism in the Time of AIDS and Witness.
“We specifically decided to focus on New York City artists who were thus far unrepresented in the Quilt, and were long overdue to be memorialized alongside many of their peers whose lives were also lost to AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses,” said lead artist Daniele Frazier on social media. “It is deeply gratifying to use one’s skills to celebrate the lives of fellow artists whose lives were unfairly cut short by this disease.”
Together, Gert, Frazier, and the incredible workshop attendees crafted panels honoring the lives of creative New Yorkers and SVA alumni, including:
- Patrick Angus
- Ching Ho Cheng
- Dan Friedman
- Luis Frangella
- Bob Guglielmo
- Juan Gonzalez
- Hugh Steers
- Tseng Kwong Chi
- Ron Vawter
- Martin Wong
- And others
Thank you to the NYC AIDS Memorial and SVA for working with us to honor and memorialize lives lost to HIV and AIDS! Learn more about how you can host the Quilt in your community:
Host the Quilt
*AIDS Memorial Quilt-Making Workshops at SVA, courtesy of the New York City AIDS Memorial, photos by Alexander Sargent
