‘Countless stories of love, loss and resilience’: UK AIDS Memorial Quilt to be shown in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall
Comprised of of 42 quilts and 23 individual panels which represent 384 individuals affected by HIV and AIDs – will be on display from 12-16 June
From 12 to 16 June 2025, the Tate Modern art gallery in London will host a rare display of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt.
The powerful community artwork, begun in the late 1980s, is comprised of 42 quilts and 23 individual panels, each commemorating someone affected by HIV and AIDS – 384 in total.
“This will be the largest public display of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt to date,” said Siobhán Lanigan from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership in a statement.
“We want the quilt to be seen widely and often. Each time it’s displayed, the names and lives it commemorates are brought into the light, challenging the lingering stigma around HIV. Every step toward visibility and understanding matters – and this is a big one.”
“Countless individual stories of love, loss, and resilience”
Tate Modern’s Director, Karin Hindsbo, added: “It’s an honour to host the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Turbine Hall. The space feels especially fitting – it invites reflection on how global and local communities intersect. The quilt represents not only a global activist movement, but also countless individual stories of love, loss, and resilience. It is a powerful act of creative expression, and we believe visitors will be profoundly moved.”
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is part of the largest community art project in the world. The project began in 1985 in San Francisco, when American activist Cleve Jones invited people to create fabric panels in memory of loved ones lost to AIDS. These panels were sewn together to form large quilts, displayed publicly as both tribute and protest – often accompanied by readings of the names stitched into the cloth.
Inspired by one of these early exhibitions, Scottish activist Alistair Hulme returned from San Francisco to Edinburgh in the late 1980s and began coordinating the creation of a UK version. One of the most significant public displays took place in June 1994 at Hyde Park Corner, London, where UK and US panels were shown alongside pieces designed by British fashion creatives in an event titled Quilts of Love.
In 2014, seven HIV support charities came together to form the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership, with a shared mission: to preserve and exhibit the quilt, and to honour the lives it represents. While access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment has transformed the outlook for many living with HIV today, the virus still impacts communities across the world – particularly where treatment remains inaccessible.
During the exhibition, volunteers from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership will join Tate staff in welcoming visitors and offering information and support. On Saturday 14 June, readings of the names will take place at 11am and 2pm, inviting the public to join in a moment of remembrance.
Full image credit: UK AIDS Memorial Quilt, c.1989-ongoing (Quilt 27: Nick Game, Paul Ashton, NAZ Project, Stevie, Space, Bev, Paul, Body Positive Newcastle Upon Tyne, Steve) Courtesy of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt