Memorial quilt honouring those who died from AIDS goes on display in Glasgow

A memorial quilt half the size of an Olympic swimming pool has been displayed in Glasgow, honouring those who died from AIDS in the UK.

The massive quilt was first started back in the late 1980s by Scottish activist Ally Van Tillo, following in the footsteps of activist Cleve Jones, who started a quilt in the USA to commemorate friends, family and loved ones lost to AIDS.

The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt has now accumulated 335 panels, each three by six feet, representing a grave plot for hundreds of lives lost to the disease in the UK.

It is part of the world’s biggest art project and has taken decades to put together, with many of the Scottish panels stitched in Leith, where the quilt first came to life.

Hundreds of individual panels have been lovingly stitched in tribute to those who have died from AIDS. James Chapelard

Displayed at the Tramway in the city’s southside, the quilt is the centrepiece of an exhibition that brings together artists, activists, archivists and community organisations, with a specifically Glaswegian spirit.

Modern medical advances have significantly reduced the number of people dying from AIDS and related illnesses, from its peak in the 1980/90s.

The condition is now managed through medication and is no longer considered a terminal diagnosis in the UK.

However, social barriers towards those with AIDS still remain.

The quilt was first started back in 1989. James Chapelard

Ally Van Tillo (fka Alastair Hume), activist and founder of The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt: “The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is coming home to Scotland. From 1989 and throughout the 90s, the Quilt found a home in Leith.

“At the time, it was a resource for loss, bereavement and education. It helped people make sense of their loss, humanising the death of individuals that our government and media were painting as perverts and social pariahs.

“But its significance today is not just historical. Language used to ostracise gay people has not gone away, and the queer community is once again under threat.

“Trans people are misunderstood and individuals’ identities are routinely attacked. We are reminded of the scare mongering and shock tactics which lead to the deaths of countless queer people, not just from AIDS but from suicide and violent crime which were equally responsible for decimating families.”

Claire Jackson, senior curator at the Tramway, added: “Our vast main gallery is a natural home for this monumental artwork, the largest ongoing community arts project in the world.

“The quilt is both an archive of remembrance and a powerful platform for education, community connection and advocacy around HIV and AIDS today.”