AIDS Memorial Quilt

In June of 1987, a small group of strangers gathered in a San Francisco storefront to document the lives they feared history would neglect. Their goal was to create a memorial for those who had died of AIDS, and to thereby help people understand the devastating impact of the disease. The meeting of devoted friends and lovers served as the foundation of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Today the Quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic. More than 48,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels – most commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS – have been sewn together by friends, lovers, and family members. The Quilt has redefined the tradition of quilt-making in response to contemporary circumstances. A memorial, a tool for education and a work of art, the Quilt is a unique creation, an uncommon and uplifting response to the tragic loss of human life.

The Piedmont Care Memorial Panel was designed and created in 2011 by artist Sabrina Myers. Sabrina says, “I want to help raise awareness for this disease that has come to light in my lifetime. Piedmont Care does so much work in the area of public education and personal aid, when the call went out for a banner, I had to respond.”

The Piedmont Care Memorial Panel is sponsored by Barbara Lanthier Colvin, Phillip Hudson, and Angela Viney