2021 AIDS Memorial Quilt Exhibition

Volunteer Registration

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The AIDS Memorial Quilt was founded in San Francisco, CA in 1987 by Cleve Jones. As of June 2016, the AIDS Quilt is composed of more than 49,000 panels on almost 6,000 blocks (blocks are the twelve foot square building blocks of the Quilt seen at displays – there are typically 8 panels, each measuring 6 feet by 3 feet, per 12 foot square block). Portions of the Quilt are constantly on display around the country. MetroHealth is honored to be a part of this legacy.

Learn more about the history of the AIDS Memorial Quilt

MetroHealth has been hosting a display of the Quilt every-other year since 2009. Each time the Quilt visits MetroHealth, we partner with Stitch Cleveland and local sewing volunteers to make new panels with local families, partners, lovers & friends of people who died of AIDS-related illness. The beautiful panels we create are then sent to the National AIDS Memorial in San Francisco to be sewn into the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Since 2009 we’ve added 50 new panels bearing names of greater Clevelanders.

Usually, we display the Quilt around World AIDS Day (December 1^st), but in 2021 we are proud to collaborate with CONVERGE, a massive visual art exhibition held in partnership with the Artist Archives of the Western Reserve, LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland, Lake Erie College, Judson Manor Retirement Community, and The MetroHealth System. Shown across 5 venues, CONVERGE brings together the stories of the LGBTQ community, including the historically underrepresented voices of women, transgender people, and people of color. MetroHealth will not only host the AIDS Quilt during CONVERGE, but will also display work in our main campus gallery space from August 26 – October 16, 2021.

See the Quilt

September 20 – October 8, 2021
Open House Quilt viewing & CONVERGE Gallery Space is open
8am – 8pm
MetroHealth Rammelkamp Atrium & Outpatient Plaza Atrium

MetroHealth’s main campus is located at 2500 MetroHealth Drive in Cleveland.
Park in the visitor’s garage on MetroHealth Drive, across from the towers – bring your parking ticket in for validation. Enter through the revolving doors under the towers and the front desk staff can direct you to the Rammelkamp Atrium and the Outpatient Plaza Atrium (near our Pharmacy) where the AIDS Quilt blocks will be hanging.

Make a Mini Quilt Piece

Saturday, September 25, 2021
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 29, 2021
12:00 – 2:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

(Choose ONE)

In order to maintain social distance and avoid a large crowd hanging out for a long time, in 2021 we are opting to host several smaller, shorter “mini” panel-making workshops where participants can create a one-foot square block that will be sewn in to a traditional 3 by 6-foot community AIDS Quilt panel representing Greater Cleveland. These smaller workshops, creating smaller Quilt pieces that will be sewn together into one, unified panel, will allow more people to participate and can include not just those who lost a loved one to AIDS-related illness, but also those who care about the HIV community in Cleveland.

If you want to be a part of the Quilt but don’t know the first thing about sewing or design, don’t worry. We have talented seamsters, artists with design savvy, and other caring volunteers to guide you through the process. We provide everything you’ll need – materials, sewing machines, sewing folks, and a supportive environment. All you have to bring is yourself and ideas of how you might want your mini Quilt piece to look.

Volunteer

• Creative Volunteer: If you are a person who sews, an artist, or are simply a creative, caring person, we need you! Please consider volunteering for our mini panel-making workshops.
• Sitting Volunteer: The AIDS Quilt is an irreplaceable work of art and needs to be treated with care and carefully looked after during it’s time at MetroHealth. We need volunteers to come to MetroHealth for “Quilt-sitting” in 2-hour shifts. Please consider supporting HIV awareness by giving your time. We’ll provide parking validation and our gratitude.

Special Group Visits

Visiting the Quilt can be a powerful experience, especially for young people. Please contact Jen McMillen Smith at [email protected] or 216-778-4051 if you are interested in planning a group visit to the Quilt. We can arrange a short talk with a person who made a Quilt panel and/or a person living with HIV. Groups hosted in the past include middle school students from Urban Community School, Cleveland Heights High GSA students, a group of young volunteers with Planned Parenthood, and a LGBT Teen Group.