AIDS Quilt Coming to Mason to Commemorate World AIDS Day
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone in the United States is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, every 9.5 minutes. In fact, of the more than one million people living with HIV, one out of five doesn’t even know they are infected.
The above image shows a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Photo courtesy of the NAMES Foundation
To bring attention to this growing epidemic, Mason will display more than 100 squares from the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The display is one of many activities taking place during HIV Awareness Week from Monday, Nov. 30, through Friday, Dec. 4, on the Fairfax Campus.
The quilt will be displayed in the Johnson Center’s Dewberry Hall on the Fairfax Campus on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to commemorate World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day is observed globally to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest ongoing community arts project in the world, was founded in 1987. Each “block” or section of the quilt measures approximately 12 feet square, and a typical block consists of eight individual 3-by-6-foot panels sewn together. Almost all of the 40,000 colorful panels that make up the quilt memorialize the life of a person lost to AIDS.
For a full schedule of events, click here. More information about the AIDS Memorial Quilt and Mason’s HIV Awareness Week can be found here.