News

Special public viewing on World AIDS Day, December 1
Baker College of Muskegon will display sections of the 54-ton AIDS memorial quilt from November 28 until December 2, in the Student Center, 1903 Marquette Ave., Muskegon. The general public is invited to a special viewing on World AIDS Day, Thursday, December 1, from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. The handmade tapestry is a memorial to the more than 92,000 individuals who have died from AIDS.

“The quilt began in San Francisco more than 20 years ago with a single 3 × 6 foot panel, and today this epic tapestry of hope and love includes more than 47,000 panels,” said Nadine Collier, Baker College of Muskegon academic counselor. “These panels have come from every state in the nation and have been created by friends, lovers and family members in an attempt to transform loss and heartbreak into hope and healing.”

Established in 1987, the NAMES Project Foundation is the international caretaker of the quilt, and works to preserve, care for and use it as a tool to foster healing, advance social justice and inspire action.

“In a war against a disease that has no cure, The AIDS memorial quilt has evolved as our most potent tool in the effort to educate against the lethal threat of AIDS,” said Collier. “By revealing the humanity behind the statistics, the quilt helps teach compassion, and triumphs over taboos, stigmas and phobias. It inspires individuals to take direct responsibility for their own well-being and that of their family, friends and community.”

“We are eager to share the AIDS memorial quilt with your community, for it is unlike any memorial ever created,” said Julie Rhoad, NAMES Project Foundation executive director. “With teddy bears, Boy Scout badges, love letters and photographs, this American treasure was created by the people for real people who were loved and lost to AIDS. We thank Baker College of Muskegon for their visionary efforts in hosting this event and invite everyone in the community to see what a wonderful healing art we have created together as a nation.”

Sections of the quilt are on display across the country – in schools, places of worship, community centers, businesses, corporations and a variety of other institutional settings – all in the hope of making the realities of HIV and AIDS real, human and immediate. To date, more than 19 million people have seen the AIDS memorial quilt at tens of thousands of displays throughout the world.

For more information about the upcoming display at Baker College of Muskegon, please call Nadine Collier at 231.777.5240, or David Miller at 231.777.5213. For more information on The NAMES Project and the AIDS memorial quilt, please visit aidsquilt.org or call the national headquarters at 404.688.5500.

To download high-resolution photographic images of the AIDS memorial quilt, please go to aidsquilt.org/newsroom.