AIDS quilt keeps memories alive
LAWRENCEVILLE - Students at the University of Georgia's Gwinnett County campus get to see a little bit of history this week - a small chunk of the enormous AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Eight quilted panels bearing the names of people who have died of AIDS are hanging from a second-floor balcony, part of the campus' Raising Respect diversity project. The 12-by-12-foot display went up Monday and is scheduled to come down after Friday.
"We're always looking for an opportunity to bring thought-provoking displays to campus. We try to bring things students can participate in on the way to class," said Teresa Raetz, director of student affairs for UGA's extended campuses.
"We also wanted to remind our students and our community that AIDS still has a presence. It's not just something that happens in other parts of the world," said Ellen Dutro, a graduate who helped arrange the exhibit.
The panel is a small part of what is the largest continuing community art project in the world, according to the Atlanta-based Names Project Foundation, which has kept the quilt going since 1987 and sends swaths of the piece across the world so people can see and remember.
The still-growing quilt now includes more than 91,000 names - nearly one in five people who have died of AIDS in this country, including Ricky Wilson of the B-52s and several other Athenians.
The entire quilt last was displayed in 19
Comment on "AIDS quilt keeps memories alive"
|
