The AIDS Quilt represents an unprecedented example of grass roots political organizing. The quilt, also known as the NAMES Project Quilt, makes both personal and private statements about mourning, community participation, and activism. The AIDS Quilt is unique among public monuments because it is a collaborative memorial, the organizers of which have vowed to continue the project for the duration of the AIDS epidemic.
A stunning feature of the AIDS Quilt is its explosive growth. The quilt was first publicly displayed in 1987, when it consisted of slightly less than 2,000 panels. At a public exhibition in 1990, the quilt comprised 10,000 panels. By 1992, the quilt included more than 20,000 panels, with an additional 4,000 panels brought to a demonstration in Washington: "The steady rise in the number of panels over the past five years reflects the progression of the epidemic in this country" (Weinberg 37). By 1994, the entire AIDS quilt covered an area of five football fields and had been viewed by more than two million people around the world (Carson, Sankaran, McConantha, and Cinelli 313).
Involvement in the AIDS Quilt project is open to anyone. Each 3x6 foot panel bears the name of a person who has died of HIV-related diseases. The project has generated the participation of individuals and groups across the country. Although materials are limited to those that are durable and can be easily folded, contributors are unrestricted in terms of artistic expression. When a panel is completed it is sent to the NAMES Project Foundation headquarters in San Francisco, where it is stitched together into blocks of eight.
A unique feature of the AIDS Quilt is its overwhelming variety and range of artistic expression of the individual panels. The panels are like snapshots from the lives of the victims and include such diverse material as "shirts and ties, teddy bears, crushed beer cans, merit badges and credit cards, photogra...