Now on View Power of Remembrance: AIDS Memorial Quilt Panels

The DAI is proud to present six, 12ft x 12ft, panels on loan from the National AIDS Memorial, a complement to our Special Exhibition, Wall Power! Spectacular Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum.

October 17, 2026 — January 03, 2027, Gallery 201

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a labor of love begun by volunteers.

Quilting has long been a communal activity, bringing people together to create something useful, passing down stories and traditions from one generation to another. The AIDS Memorial Quilt was first imaged by Human rights activist Cleve Jones in 1985 from his desire to remember those who had died from AIDS-related illnesses. Jones, with Mike Smith, founded the NAMES Project, turning their grief and anger into action. 

Initially working with a small group of volunteers out of their headquarters in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, they stitched together 3x6 panels onto 12 ft square Quilt blocks. Jones stated, "The workshop was magical and at the same time devastating...There wasn't a day that I didn't cry, but the miracle of it was that over the sound of the sewing machines you'd hear laughter." 

The first large-scale display was on the National Mall, Washington, DC, on October 11, 1987, revealing 1,920 panels, each recognizing multiple individuals. The following year, the Quilt has grown to 8,288 panels. The last showing of the entire Quilt was in 1996, with more than 41,000 panels covering thirty acres. While medical advances have helped slow the effects of the AIDS virus for individuals, there still is no cure and the National AIDS Memorial continues to receive new panels daily, which are shown in numerous displays each year. 

Featured Image: Panel 0840 (detail); mixed media. On loan from National AIDS Memorial Inc., California. Photographer unknown, AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at the National Mall, Washington, D.C.,1996