Later this year, a monumental quilt commemorating those who lost their lives to AIDS in Britain will be showcased publicly at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in London.
Originating in the 1980s during the peak of the epidemic, the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt was designed to bring attention to the disease and to honor the individuals who passed away from it. By the close of 2011, over 20,335 people with HIV had succumbed to the virus in the UK.
The initiative was inspired by the American AIDS Quilt, which began in 1987 under the guidance of human rights activist Cleve Jones. Scottish activist Alistair Hume encountered Jones in San Francisco, saw the US quilt, and decided to establish a UK chapter from his home base in Edinburgh.
After being displayed in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the quilt was subsequently stored away. Its most recent exhibition was at the European AIDS conference at the ExCeL centre in London in 2021.
This summer marks the quilt’s debut at a prominent UK cultural venue when it is hung in the Turbine Hall from June 12 to 16.
Charlie Porter, a fashion critic and writer who contributed to the Tate exhibition, referenced his use of quilt imagery in his novel Nova Scotia House, describing the experience of being near it as profoundly humbling.
“There is a history of showcasing the quilt in significant places to drive home the message about HIV/AIDS. Laying it out in Hyde Park was iconic, and there’s no more iconic site in the UK than the Turbine Hall,” he explained.
The original US quilt was publicly displayed for the first time on the National Mall in Washington, DC, coinciding with the national march for lesbian and gay rights.
Porter emphasized the importance of conveying a message about those lost to the AIDS crisis while also addressing the stigma surrounding HIV that persists today.
Each panel of the quilt measures 6ft by 3ft, a size reflecting the typical dimensions of a grave plot. Many individuals who died were unable to have funerals, as some funeral home workers declined to handle their remains, and sometimes family members avoided formal ceremonies.
Names featured on the quilt include Ray Petri, a stylist celebrated by the Observer in 2000 as “the man who dressed a decade.” The panel dedicated to Robert Fraser, an art dealer known as “Groovy Bob,” was crafted by fashion designer Bella Freud.
It also honors notable figures such as writer Bruce Chatwin, actor Denholm Elliott, and Ian Charleson, star of Chariots of Fire, who faced homophobia within the theater community before his death in 1990.
Siobhan Lanigan, a volunteer with the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership, expressed, “This exhibition aims to restore the quilt’s original intention: public visibility, acting as a representation of those who have died and serving as a visual voice of protest. The individuals memorialized were subjected to hatred that we must never forget.”
This display comes at a critical time, with concerns raised about potential cuts to US funding that might worsen the AIDS crisis in several nations.
A former president of the International AIDS Society warned of possible “dramatic increases in infections and deaths, alongside the loss of decades of progress” following the US’s decision to terminate 83% of its foreign aid contracts and dismantle USAID.
Porter noted that the ongoing AIDS crisis and funding threats are likely to create challenging circumstances for many. “There’s no better venue to raise public awareness than the Turbine Hall,” he stated.
Karin Hindsbo, director of Tate Modern, remarked: “It will be an honor to showcase the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Turbine Hall. This is an ideal setting for the public to engage with it … The quilt is an extraordinary testament to creative human expression, and I’m confident our visitors will find it to be a deeply impactful experience.”
