National AIDS Memorial Quilt

About the Quilt

The origins of the National AIDS Memorial began nearly 30 years ago at the height of the AIDS pandemic when a small group of San Franciscans devastated by the AIDS crisis sought to find a sacred space to honor loved ones who were lost to AIDS. Known simply as “the Grove”, that place was created in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park as a dedicated space in the national landscape where millions of Americans touched directly or indirectly by AIDS could gather to heal, hope, and remember.

Today, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is an epic 54-ton tapestry that includes nearly 50,000 panels dedicated to more than 110,000 individuals. It is the premiere symbol of the AIDS pandemic, a living memorial to a generation lost to AIDS and an important HIV prevention education tool. With hundreds of thousands of people contributing their talents to making the memorial panels, and tens of thousands of volunteers to help display it, the Quilt is considered the largest community arts project in history.

Each panel is 3 feet by 6 feet, the size of a grave.

The last display of the entire AIDS Memorial Quilt was in October of 1996 when the Quilt covered the entire National Mall in Washington, D.C. with an estimated 1.2 million people coming to view it.

Experience the Quilt on March 21 - 23

Otsego Pride Alliance and SUNY Oneonta’s Women’s and Gender Studies Department are proud to bring this important piece of history to upstate NY to continue to honor the 700,000 US lives lost to the AIDS pandemic. The entire quilt is too large to display, but sections will be available for the public to view at the Hunt Union Ballroom at SUNY Oneonta.

If you have a loved one with a panel you’d like us to request, please let us know at info@otsegopridealliance.org. 

Dates: Friday, March 21 - Sunday, March 23, 2025

Location: Hunt Union Ballroom at SUNY Oneonta

108 Ravine Pkwy, Oneonta, NY 13820