Personal and political

A quilt panel not only represents a cherished personal memory, but also has socio-political significance. Exhibition of the QUILT gives visibility to the impact of AIDS. Together the individual panels and blocks form a colorful fellowship. They represent the faces of so many people, young and old, men, women and children from every continent. Cold statistics are transformed into the human lives that ended too soon. The QUILT shows that all of us can be affected by HIV and AIDS. It is also a visible protest against the discrimination and stigmatization of people with HIV and AIDS.

The Unfolding Ceremony
Presentation of the QUILT is usually performed in the same way as originally happened in San Francisco. The Netherlands is no exception. Quilt blocks (squares of eight panels sewn together) are laid out in such a way that the four corners of the blocks are folded inward pointing towards the middle. Eight people stand in a circle around the block. Four of them unfold the corners from the middle, followed by the others who unfold the next four corners. This continues until the entire block is unfolded. The eight people then pick up the quilt block and lay it in the position, assigned prior to the ceremony. While one quilt block is being laid out, the next group of eight people begins to unfold their block. The process carries on until the whole QUILT is unfolded. During this ceremony friends and family read out the names of those being remembered.

Presentation in the Netherlands
The Dutch QUILT is not always presented in its entirety. Nor is it always laid on the ground and unfolded. Often the quilt blocks are hung upon a wall, as for instance on AIDS Memorial Day in the Dominicus Church in Amsterdam.