Join HOME and George House Trust for a special exhibition, forming part of a ‘quilt trail’ of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Exhibiting in 15 locations across Greater Manchester to mark World AIDS Day on Sunday 1 December, one of the quilt panels will be displayed at HOME from Monday 25 November.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is an irreplaceable piece of UK social history. It reflects a time when the nation was impacted swiftly and deeply by HIV and AIDS, and shares the stories of the people who were lost to that early epidemic and the memories of those who supported them.
Each individual panel commemorates someone who died from AIDS related illnesses and will be accompanied by emotive testimonials, photos and personal documents – each lovingly made by friends, lovers or family.
Amongst the hundreds of lives remembered are the writer Bruce Chatwin, the artist/film makers Derek Jarman, the actor Ian Charleson and the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Designers involved in the creation of the Quilt include Vivienne Westwood and Rifat Ozbek.
Panels will be displayed across Greater Manchester at HOME, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester Central Library, Manchester Cathedral, Manchester Art Gallery, Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, Oldham Coliseum, Number One Riverside, Rochdale, Stretford Public Hall, Pendleton Gateway, Salford and The Met, Bury.
HOME and George House Trust want to raise awareness of HIV and the realities of living with the illness, as well as commemorate those lost to HIV in the early days of the epidemic. Marking World AIDS Day and this year’s global theme ‘Communities Make a Difference’, this is a one-off opportunity to view a section of this uniquely moving piece of social history.