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Vancouver, BC Canadá |
Sunset Beach west, near foot of Broughton Street | Memorial del Sida de Vancouver |
desde 1 Diciembre 2004 996 nombres |
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In summer of 1994 Dr. Joss de Wet, then medical director of Normandy AIDS hospice, was struck by the cumulative deaths, not only at the hospice, but in the affected community at large. There arose out of this sorrow a need to remember, an idea for a Memorial, so that that one that had died of this disease should never be forgotten. Ed Lee, chairman of AIDS Vancouver took the concept to the board and championed the cause at this respected community organization. A public art competition, announced in January 1996 and open to artists and others of the design community residing in BC, selected a Corten® steel diaphanous ribbon in Ceperley Park as winner in July. As a result of public concerns with site selected, the Vancouver Park Board appropriately withdrew approval and advised the committee to seek a limited number of alternate sites for subsequent consideration.
Between March and October 1997, the Vancouver AIDS Memorial Society met with concerned parties from the community at large to determine a list of four final candidate sites. The four sites included Ceperley Park, Sunset Beach west, foot of Nelson Street, and Alexandra Park. After the Vancouver Park Board staff had recommended Sunset Beach west as the preferred site, the Vancouver AIDS Memorial Society affirmed the choice as an excellent site for the Memorial in June 1998.
In February 2001 the Vancouver AIDS Memorial Society began its fundraising drive and in November the nomination period for names to the Memorial opened.
After 10 years of non-stop faith and commitment to honoring the thousands of British Columbia residents who have died from illnesses related to the AIDS virus, the dream of so many volunteers, sponsors and community members has been completed as the six-week landscaping and installation process began on May 10 2004.
Photo © Vida Morkunas flickr
Vancouver AIDS Memorial Society
