AIDS Memorial Quilt Analysis

I’ve always been a fan of art and activism. Together, both create a powerful voice that builds community and initiates change. Even through my years of activism through writing, I love discovering other ways voices of marginalized people are heard using artistic expression.

Our expression comes from a desire to be heard. As of late, I’ve been on a journey of finding my voice as a writer and activist. Constantly, I question the power of my individual voice. Am I loud enough? Am I putting in the work? Artists and creators alike are the architects of change, and even still, we can use a boost of inspiration. My inspiration comes from a visit I had at the new location of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

It wasn’t long during my visit that I realized

the power of stories. The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a patchwork for sure, but not only of fabric and color patterns. It’s a patchwork of love stories, farewell letters, and statements. A testament to the human experience, the Quilt gives voice to the voiceless.

I’m learning that great art allows us to see ourselves through each other.

We are all connected, and through that connection, we should see how responsible we are for one another. Love is the stitch that binds us. Examples of that love can be seen at the new AIDS Memorial Quilt headquarters, now located at 117 Luckie Street in Downtown Atlanta. Within the artistic storefront, you’ll find panels of the Quilt on display.

Open since June 1st, the Quilt and its resources are more accessible to the people of the city. Of course, it would be impossible to store the entire 54-ton quilt in a 2,500-square-foot space, but no worries there. The bulk of The Quilt is stored in a warehouse in Tucker, GA. However, prior to Atlanta being home for the Quilt since 2001, San Francisco was its original birthplace.

Along with displays, there is a shelving unit to the back wall with shelves of Quilt that is regularly changed out to show diverse stories of the lives lost due to AIDS-related causes.

There is a back wall of shelves, holding blocks of the Quilt, and behind those shelves is a wall of names. The names are of men and women who have died of AIDS-related causes, which made me wonder if being in such a space put me in a position to mourn the names or celebrate

them.

“We honor memory to teach the living,” was the enlightening and powerful statement from the President & CEO of The NAMES Project – AIDS Memorial Quilt, Julie Rhoad.

I embraced the inviting energy of the space, and used my time to have an organic conversation with Julie. “The spirit of the move,” is how she described the process of moving its headquarters and the AIDS Memorial Quilt from Atlanta’s Midtown into its new location in Downtown Atlanta. That spirit in which Julie speaks of, spans 30 years of artistic expression through memorializing the lives impacted by HIV and AIDS.

What would have happened if AIDS activist Cleve Jones not decided to rally people together to tape the names of loved ones lost to AIDS-related causes to the side of the San Francisco federal building?