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35-489: The idea for the NAMES Project Memorial Quilt was conceived on November 27, 1985, by AIDS activist Cleve Jones during the annual candlelight march, in remembrance of the 1978 assassinations of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone . For the march, Jones had people write the names of loved ones that were lost to AIDS-related causes on signs, and then they taped the signs to

70-626: A million dollars. Assisted by over 9,000 volunteers , a seven-person crew traveled, displayed, and expanded The Quilt. Local panels added in each city tripled its size from 1,920 to over 6,000 panels by the tour's conclusion. The 1989 Quilt North America Tour visited 19 U.S. cities, including 7 in Canada , coinciding with local LGBT events in June and July, laying the groundwork for the Canadian AIDS Memorial Quilt. By October,

105-642: A position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the November 3, 1992 election. Jones has been working with UNITE HERE , the hotel, restaurant, and garment workers' labor union on homophobia issues. He is a driving force behind the Sleep With The Right People campaign, which aims to convince LGBT tourists to stay only in hotels that respect the rights of their workers. Another part of Jones's work with UNITE HERE

140-556: A study he volunteered for. In the same interview, Jones also talked about the time when he became seriously ill, and how he responded rapidly to the "cocktail" of drugs that fought the virus, in the earliest trials of it. He described his present health as good. The interview was based on Jones's book, When We Rise: My Life in the Movement , and the television program When We Rise , broadcast in February and March 2017 on ABC in

175-510: Is a memorial to and celebration of the lives of people lost to the AIDS pandemic which marks it as a prominent forerunner of the twentieth century shift in memorial design that moved towards celebrating victims or survivors. Each panel is 3 feet (0.91 m) by 6 feet (1.8 m), approximately the size of the average grave; this connects the ideas of AIDS and death more closely. The Quilt made its first public appearance on October 11, 1987, during

210-583: Is an American AIDS and LGBT rights activist. He conceived the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt , which has become, at 54 tons, the world's largest piece of community folk art as of 2020. In 1983 at the onset of the AIDS pandemic , Jones co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation , which has grown into one of the largest and most influential advocacy organizations empowering people with AIDS in

245-437: Is donated along with the panel such as photographs of the subject. The information about the panel is recorded in a database. Panels are backed in canvas and sewn together in blocks of eight. Grommets for hanging are attached and the blocks are numbered and photographed. The numbers help with identification and location in storage, on the quilt website, and when the quilt is displayed. Those who submit panels do not have to know

280-418: Is making the labor movement more open to LGBT members. In an interview in November 2016 with Terry Gross on NPR radio talk show Fresh Air , Jones described his status as HIV-positive , and said while he first learned of his status when tests for infection came out in the 1980s, he was likely infected with the virus around the winter of 1978 or 1979, based on blood samples collected from him as part of

315-728: Is warehoused in San Francisco when not being displayed, and continues to grow, consisting of more than 50,000 individual memorial panels (to over 110,000 people) and weighing an estimated 54 tons as of 2022. The goal of the Quilt is to bring awareness to how massive the AIDS pandemic really is, and to bring support and healing to those affected by it. Another goal is to raise funds for community-based AIDS service organizations , to increase their funding for AIDS prevention and education. As of 1996, more than $ 1.7 million had already been raised, and

350-633: The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on the National Mall . Comprising 1,920 panels and covering an area larger than a football field , 48 volunteers ceremonially unfolded the Quilt at sunrise. Participants read aloud the names represented in the Quilt, establishing a tradition followed at subsequent displays. The event drew half a million visitors that weekend. The inaugural national tour of The Quilt took place in spring and summer 1988, raising nearly half

385-587: The Vietnam War . He did not reveal his sexual orientation to his parents until he was 18. His career as an activist began in San Francisco during the turbulent 1970s when, as a newcomer to the city, he was befriended by pioneer gay-rights leader Harvey Milk . Jones worked as a student intern in Milk's office while studying political science at San Francisco State University . During the 1970s, Jones

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420-661: The AIDS Pandemic, including Canada, 1989, Children, 2010, North Californians, 2008, Australians, 2009, and New Zealand, 1988. The Irish Names Quilt was created in 1990. "Virtual" AIDS Memorial Quilts have also been created: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a quilt volunteer, McMullin, made protective masks for community service organizations from quilting fabric. In November 2019 the NAMES Project Foundation and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that

455-721: The Band Played On , Randy Shilts 's best-selling 1987 work of non-fiction about the AIDS epidemic in the United States. Jones was also featured in the 1995 documentary film The Castro . Jones took part in a documentary, Echoes of Yourself in the Mirror , about the HIV /AIDS epidemic, speaking during World AIDS Day in 2005. In the documentary he talks about the idea behind the AIDS Memorial Quilt, as well as

490-687: The NAMES Project participated with over 200 volunteers marching down Pennsylvania Avenue , carrying 90 Quilt panels. Spanning the National Mall from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, The Quilt attracted nearly 1.2 million visitors in October 1996. Over the three-day event, more than 40,000 panels were displayed. Notably, President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton attended, marking

525-683: The National Mall and 50 sites around D.C. during the XIX International AIDS Conference . Due to its size, organizers rotated 1,500 panels daily at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This event marked the quilt's last full exhibition since 1996. As of 2020, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is available online, featuring 50,000 panels with nearly 110,000 names sewn into them. The collection is searchable by block number or name, allowing users to read

560-480: The National Mall. Construction choices are left to the quilter and techniques such as traditional fabric quilting, embroidery, applique, paint and stencil, beading, and iron-ons are common. Items and materials included in the panels: Panels are submitted to the National AIDS Memorial, along with a panel-maker identification form and a documentation letter. Occasionally, other supplemental material

595-682: The Quilt featured over 12,000 panels and was once again exhibited on The Ellipse in Washington, D.C. In October 1992, the entire Quilt, featuring panels from every state and 28 countries, was displayed on Washington's National Mall . The quilt, more than 10 times its original size, with over 21,000 handmade panels, stretched from the base of the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in Presidents Park . During President Clinton's inaugural parade on January 20, 1993,

630-611: The San Francisco AIDS Foundation in 1984. Jones conceived the idea of the AIDS Memorial Quilt at a candlelight memorial for Harvey Milk in 1985 and in 1987 created the first quilt panel in honor of his friend Marvin Feldman. The AIDS Memorial Quilt has grown to become the world's largest community arts project, memorializing the lives of over 85,000 Americans killed by AIDS. Jones ran for

665-620: The USA. A theme of the interview was that activism saved his life, as he was in the early drug trials, part of the group pushing the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration ) to stop doing double-blind trials as soon as it was clear that the cocktail of drugs saved lives. Jones is portrayed by actor Emile Hirsch in Milk , director Gus Van Sant 's 2008 biopic of Harvey Milk . He is prominently featured in And

700-530: The United States. Jones was born in West Lafayette, Indiana . He moved with his family to Scottsdale, Arizona , when he was 14 and was a student at Arizona State University for a time. Jones claimed, however, he never really accepted the Phoenix area as his home. His father was a psychologist and his mother was a Quaker, a faith she held at least in part to benefit her son in the era of the draft for

735-567: The activism of San Francisco citizens in the 1970s and '80s to help people affected by AIDS and to figure out what the disease was. The film also looks at the impact HIV/AIDS is having in communities of color, and the young. He was one of the Official Grand Marshals of the 2009 NYC LGBT Pride March , produced by Heritage of Pride joining Dustin Lance Black and Anne Kronenberg on June 28, 2009. In August 2009, Jones

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770-567: The actor Rock Hudson , one of which consisted of a navy blue background with silver "Rock Hudson" and stars, above a rainbow with the word "Hollywood". Other panels are made by loved ones and then attached to make one large block. Some are flamboyant and loud, whereas some are more muted and simple. Panels have been accessioned into the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History (accession number 1998.0254.01) and featured in

805-468: The book The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects . The AIDS Memorial Quilt was the first of its kind as a continually growing monument created piecemeal by thousands of individuals, and as of 2007, it constituted the largest piece of community folk art in the world. The Quilt was followed by, and inspired a number of memorials and awareness projects, both AIDS-related and otherwise. Examples of these include: There are also quilts for sub-sects of

840-430: The effort continues to this day. 3 by 6 feet (0.91 m × 1.83 m) panels made typically of fabric are created in recognition of a person who died from AIDS-related complications. The panels are made by individuals alone or in a workshop, such as Call My Name (which focuses on African American representation on the quilt) or in quilting bees, such as the one held during the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on

875-488: The historical course of HIV infection. The conference featured many leaders in fields relating to HIV. The International AIDS Society formally announced that Washington D.C. would host the conference on February 25, 2011. On February 23 Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced the creation of the Mayor's Commission on HIV/AIDS, which is a city board which has the mission to promote treatment and HIV prevention . Gray stated that

910-620: The last full exhibition of the Quilt on the Mall; by this point in time, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was finally seeing a major decline. In June 2004, The Quilt featured over 8,000 new panels created since the 1996 exhibit. The display took place on The Ellipse in Washington, in observance of National HIV Testing Day. For the AIDS Memorial Quilt's 25th anniversary in July 2012, comprising over 48,000 panels honoring 94,000 lives lost to AIDS, it returned to

945-501: The old San Francisco Federal Building . All the signs taped to the building looked like an enormous patchwork quilt to Jones, and he was inspired. The NAMES Project officially started in 1987 in San Francisco by Jones, Mike Smith, and volunteers Joseph Durant, Jack Caster, Gert McMullin, Ron Cordova, Larkin Mayo, Steve Kirchner, and Gary Yuschalk. At that time many people who died of AIDS-related causes did not receive funerals, due to both

980-543: The person, but they do have to feel some sort of connection with the individual that they want people to recognize. For example, to memorialize Queen lead-singer Freddie Mercury , there were many panels made, two of which were a solid white background with a blue and black guitar, and "Freddy Mercury" written down the sides in black, with the AIDS ribbon above his name, and a purple silk with "Freddie Mercury", "Queen", and "1946–1991" in silver applique, along with two pictures of Mercury with Queen. Many panels were also made for

1015-676: The quilt panels were moved from San Francisco to Atlanta, Georgia . The NAMES Project Foundation was headquartered in Atlanta. In 2019, the organization announced that the Quilt would be relocating to San Francisco under the permanent care and stewardship of the National AIDS Memorial . In 2020, its archives were relocated to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress . The AIDS Memorial Quilt

1050-430: The quilt would relocate to San Francisco under the permanent care and stewardship of the National AIDS Memorial starting in 2020. The Project's archives were gifted to the joint care with the American Folklife Center at the U.S. Library of Congress , allowing for greater public access. This action returns the quilt to San Francisco , where the project began. Cleve Jones Cleve Jones (born October 11, 1954)

1085-406: The social stigma of AIDS felt by surviving family members and the outright refusal by many funeral homes and cemeteries to handle the deceased's remains. Lacking a memorial service or grave site, the Quilt was often the only opportunity survivors had to remember and celebrate their loved ones' lives. Volunteers created hundreds and later thousands of panels in a storefront on Market Street. The Quilt

NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-610: The stories stitched into each panel. A guide is provided for navigating the collection if required. In June 2022, the National AIDS Memorial commemorated the 35th anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt with a significant outdoor display in Golden Gate Park's Robin Williams Meadow. The exhibition showcased 3,000 panels, offering a poignant tribute to lives affected by AIDS. In 1997, the NAMES Project headquarters moved from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., and in 2001

1155-669: Was a conference held in Washington, D.C. from 22 to 27 July 2012 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center , run by the International AIDS Society . The theme of the conference is "Turning the Tide Together". The meaning of the theme is that because of recent advances in HIV treatment and prevention and increased evidence that it is possible to scale up interventions, communities have new opportunities to change

1190-509: Was also involved in the Coors boycott . In 1981, Jones went to work in the district office of State Assemblyman Art Agnos . In 1982, when AIDS was still a new and largely underestimated threat, Jones co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation , then called the Kaposi's Sarcoma Research and Education Foundation, with Marcus Conant , Frank Jacobson, and Richard Keller. They reorganized as

1225-807: Was an official Grand Marshal of the Vancouver Pride Parade . He participated as an actor in the Los Angeles premiere of 8 , a condensed theatrical re-enactment of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial's closure, on March 3, 2012. He is portrayed by actors Austin P. McKenzie and Guy Pearce in the 2017 ABC television miniseries When We Rise , directed by Gus Van Sant . He also had a cameo appearance playing himself in Looking: The Movie in 2016. XIX International AIDS Conference, 2012 The XIX International AIDS Conference

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