AIDS Memorial Quilt Display
AIDS Memorial Quilt Display: December 1-5
MEDIA ADVISORY
TODAY'S DATE: November 25, 2008
CONTACT:
Display of three blocks of panels from The
AIDS Memorial Quilt December 1-5, 2008--including panels unique to
December 1-5, 2008 in the
This
year, nearly 40 TAMU offices, departments, organizations, and community groups
are joining together to bring a display of three blocks (12 foot by 12 foot sections)
of The AIDS Memorial Quilt back to campus during AIDS Awareness Week. The display will take place in the Memorial
Student Center (MSC) as part of a global commemoration of World AIDS Day (December
1, 2008). This display is part of a national effort to have every section of
The Quilt on display leading up to World AIDS Day in the hopes of raising
awareness and saving lives. What makes
this display very special is that two of these 12 foot by 12 foot section will
contain panels unique to
The
AIDS Memorial Quilt has gained world wide recognition for its message and its
enormity. It stands as the largest
community art project ever undertaken measuring in at over 1.25 million square
feet, over 50,000 panels, and weighing more than 54 tons. The 91,000+ names however still only
represent less than 17% of all AIDS related deaths in the
This year we also offer all visitors the ability to help make history by participating in the stitching of two panels memorializing the lives of B/CS community members who have passed away--Doug Segur who passed away in 1996 and Tracy Johnson who passed away in 2003. This event will take place in the MSC Flag Room daily from 10am-5pm, and in the evening on Thursday December 4 from 5pm-8pm.
All events
are free and open to the public.
WHEN: Quilt Display From Monday December 1 to Friday December 5, 2008
including guided walking tours daily at 10:30am, 12pm, and 2pm (meet in the MSC Flag Room)
WHERE:
COORDINATED
BY: The
WHY: World AIDS Day is the ideal time to remind the community that HIV/AIDS still poses a lethal threat and a display of The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a vivid and poignant way to illustrate what has been lost and what is at risk. With teddy bears and Boy Scout badges, A&M clothing, and faded photographs, The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a vivid reminder that HIV/AIDS can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any age including members of our Texas Aggie family and their loved ones. By revealing the humanity behind the statistics, The Quilt helps teach compassion, triumphs over taboo, stigma and phobia; and inspires individuals to take direct responsibility for their own well-being and that of their family, friends and community.
With more than 47,000 handmade panels created in memory of over 91,000 individuals lost to HIV/AIDS, The Quilt is the largest, ongoing, community art project in the world and our most potent tool in the fight to educate against HIV/AIDS.
Displaying
panels from the Quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic and an
educational opportunity that is already a tradition here at Texas A&M.
The Quilt has served as an educational tool about the reality of AIDS for the more than fifteen million people who have already seen it, and by bringing these specific panels back to Texas A&M we are reminding our students that this is an issue that still hits close to home.
Or visit the website of The Names Project Foundation at: http://www.aidsquilt.org/ .