Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding The AIDS Memorial Quilt

The year 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of The AIDS Memorial Quilt and 30 years of life with AIDS. With the introduction of The Quilt in 1987, The NAMES Project Foundation redefined the tradition of quilt making in response to contemporary circumstances. Through hands-on panel-making activities, individuals and communities come together to remember loved ones, grieve, find support and strength, and engage in dialogues for change. This program will feature the remarkable artistry, inspiration, and impact of The AIDS Memorial Quilt and provide the public with an unparalleled opportunity to experience this highly charged symbol of the AIDS crisis and the largest community art project in the world.

Today, The Quilt contains nearly 48,000 panels, and it has been viewed by more than 18 million people. It is much more than pieced-together fabric squares: it is a moving and monumental creative collaboration; it is a catalyst to remember, understand, educate, and act.

Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the first Festival program to focus exclusively on community craft and performance that were directly developed in response to crisis and grief. With The AIDS Memorial Quilt as the anchor and through craft demonstrations, dance and musical performances, interactive discussions, and other activities, this program will commemorate the innovative and resourceful ways through which communities have endeavored to educate people and to cope with one of the most complex epidemics in modern history.

The Festival will bring together approximately 100 visual artists, designers, quilters, dancers, musicians, community activists, and others who will share the knowledge and creativity that shape their efforts to disseminate the message of the AIDS crisis. Quilt panel-making groups from around the country will demonstrate and teach a variety of traditional quilting techniques. Volunteers and staff from The NAMES Project Foundation will perform the rituals surrounding new panels and their incorporation into the entirety of The Quilt. The program will also feature other artistic responses to the AIDS crisis, and will host moderated conversations with project contributors, community leaders, and pioneers. A designated Festival venue will be the site for sharing and documenting visitors’ personal stories and creative expressions related to living in the age of HIV and AIDS.

Visitors of all ages will have the opportunity to learn quilting techniques, make panels, and share stories from their own experiences. A large portion of The Quilt will be displayed throughout the Festival site, with sections incorporated into the various demonstration and performance venues, reinforcing The Quilt’s size, visual impact, the scale, and diversity of people impacted by HIV and AIDS.

Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding The AIDS Memorial Quilt program at the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival is a partnership between the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and The NAMES Project Foundation, with the support and participation of many others.

Did you know?

• The Quilt extends for 1.3 million square feet and weighs over 54 tons.
• It would take 33 days to view the entire AIDS Memorial Quilt, spending only one minute per panel.
• More than 91,000 names are incorporated into The Quilt.
• Quilt panels are assembled from a variety of materials, both conventional and unconventional. These include, for example, Barbie dolls, car keys, bubble wrap, Legos, tennis shoes, credit cards, and a Sony Walkman.
• On average, one new panel is added to The Quilt every day of the year.