A vast artwork made of 42 quilts goes on display in Tate Modern for a short time this summer.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt consists of textile panels created by members of the public to commemorate friends, family and loved ones lost to AIDS. Apparently the largest community art project in the world, it began in the USA in 1985, with the finished quilts shown outdoors as a form of protest to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.
The UK version began in the late 1980s, after Scottish activist Alistair Hulme visited San Francisco and saw the work being done there. Parts of it were shown at the Quilts of Love display at Hyde Park Corner in June 1994, but the display in the Turbine Hall this June will be the largest showing of the UK Quilt in its history.
Throughout the time it's on show, volunteers from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership will be working alongside Tate’s staff to provide further information and support. Live readings of the names featured on the quilt will take place at 11am and 2pm on Saturday 14 June.
Siobhán Lanigan from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership said:
The purpose of our partnership is to have the Quilt seen as often as possible in as many places as possible... With every viewing, the names and the lives of all the people commemorated and all those who could not be named, are recognised, celebrated and brought out of the shadow of the stigma that is still associated with an HIV diagnosis today.
Karin Hindsbo, Director of Tate Modern, said:
It’s going to be an honour to show the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Turbine Hall... The quilt is an incredible feat of creative human expression and I know our visitors are going to find it a deeply moving experience.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is on display at Tate Modern, 12-26 June 2025. Entry is free.
