The quilt was started in San Francisco in 1987 by Cleve Jones and a group of volunteers who wanted to express their grief over the deaths of their loved ones and to make the public aware of the devastation caused by AIDS. Today, there are more than 45,000, 3 feet by 6 feet panels that make up the entire quilt.
The NAMES Project and its 38 chapters display sections of the quilt 1,600 times each year, in high schools and colleges, churches and temples, businesses, museums, hospitals, shopping malls and community centers. International NAMES Project Affiliates display portions of their Quilt projects around the world.
The NAMES Project receives more than 50 new panels every week. Eight panels are sewn together into a 12-foot by 12-foot section. When a panel is submitted to The NAMES Project, it can be requested that it be displayed when the Quilt travels to your community.
For more information about the AIDS Memorial Quilt, visit http://www.chipublib.org/008subject/009scitech/aidsnameschi.html.