Names Project Quilt

This is my very favorite example of Sewing As Media. I adore the Names Project Quilt. The idea was formed by Cleve Jones in 1987 when the world was still learning about and still very much afraid of AIDS. What was unfortunate was that AIDS was viewed very much as a disease that was the product of sin so it was not getting the government support or recognition that it should have. The quilt was created as a memorial to commemorate the people that died of AIDS, ironically inspired by the murder of the San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk,(if anyone has seen the movie Milk that is who I am referring to.) Anyone can send in a 3 by 6 panel to the project, the only requirements are that the name of the person who died from AIDS is incorporated into the design of the quilt and the size of the panel must be 3 by 6. However, on looking over the panels, it seems people are not always including names. What is so staggeringly beautiful, is how personalized the panels of the quilt are. You can see so much of the individuality of people in the quilt. I am so moved by the stories behind them. It is so powerful because once you start really looking at the panels of the quilt you start seeing the lives behind the statistics, which is a very powerful message. The quilt takes the terrible disease and empowers people. It gives them a way to commemorate those they have lost and it becomes a very strong political message, just by existing.
http://www.aidsquilt.org/history.htm