The Volusia County Health Department will bring the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to Daytona State College on Monday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A portion of the quilt, dedicated to those who have succumbed to the AIDS virus, will be on display in the Photography Hall (bldg. 530) atrium located on the Daytona Beach Campus, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd.The same evening, the Gay-Straight Alliance student organization also will present the Academy Award winning documentary “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt” at 5 p.m. in the Madorsky Theater, located in the Hosseini Center (bldg. 1200). The film describes the creation of the largest ongoing community arts project in the world.
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is an outgrowth of the original AIDS Memorial Quilt conceived in 1987 in San Francisco to memorialize AIDS victims and create awareness of the deadly virus. The Quilt was first displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., containing 1,920 3X6 panels. As it traveled the US, more panels were added. The Quilt was last displayed in its entirety in 1996 at the nation’s capital, where it covered the entire National Mall and consisted of 44,000 3X6 panels containing nearly 100,000 names (17.5 percent of US AIDS victims at the time). As the AIDS epidemic continues to claim lives, the quilt has continued to grow. Portions of the quilt are on display throughout the country. Today, there are NAMES Project chapters across the US and independent Quilt affiliates around the world. The Quilt to be displayed at Daytona State is under the care of the Region 1 NAMES Project Foundation Chapter. It is a powerful, visible symbol of the AIDS epidemic and provides unique opportunities to engage discussions about HIV/AIDS.
For more information about the display at Daytona State, please call Bruce Cook at (386) 506-4417, email: cookb@daytonastate.edu.
