Wellington New Zealand/ Aotearoa |
Te Papa National Museum of New Zealand | New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt |
since 1 December 1988 212 names |
The Quilt concept originated in San Francisco in 1987 in response to the devastating impact of AIDS. From a small local initiative, the AIDS Memorial Quilt quickly grew into a worldwide effort, an international symbol of compassionate response to the AIDS pandemic.
The New Zealand Quilt Project was founded in 1988 when the first panel was created and later displayed in Wellington on December 1st, World AIDS Day. The first official Quilt unfolding ceremony took place at the Auckland City Art Gallery in October 1991. By then the Quilt included 32 panels, sewn into four blocks. By the year 2000, the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt had grown to seventeen blocks commemorating some 140 individuals.
Many of the panels in the Quilt have been lovingly created by family and friends for their loved one. Others have been made by people wishing to acknowledge and extend compassion to people they had never met or knew only slightly.
The Quilt has been hosted and displayed throughout New Zealand: at schools and marae, shopping malls and town centres, churches and many major public gatherings. Unlike other memorials, the Quilt is not inert, it is mobile and fluid. Every time it is encountered it is in slightly different form, arrangement or setting.
With its power to evoke sympathy and understanding, and its message of hope and courage, the Quilt continues to be an effective means of informing people about the realities of HIV and AIDS.
New Zealand Quilt Project
The New Zealand Quilt Project was founded in 1988 when the first panel was created and later displayed in Wellington on December 1st, World AIDS Day. The first official Quilt unfolding ceremony took place at the Auckland City Art Gallery in October 1991. By then the Quilt included 32 panels, sewn into four blocks. By the year 2000, the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt had grown to seventeen blocks commemorating some 140 individuals.
Many of the panels in the Quilt have been lovingly created by family and friends for their loved one. Others have been made by people wishing to acknowledge and extend compassion to people they had never met or knew only slightly.
The Quilt has been hosted and displayed throughout New Zealand: at schools and marae, shopping malls and town centres, churches and many major public gatherings. Unlike other memorials, the Quilt is not inert, it is mobile and fluid. Every time it is encountered it is in slightly different form, arrangement or setting.
With its power to evoke sympathy and understanding, and its message of hope and courage, the Quilt continues to be an effective means of informing people about the realities of HIV and AIDS.
New Zealand Quilt Project