Eisenhower Health’s display of selections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt presented for the public at the Annenberg Health Science Building

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest ongoing community folk art project in the world. It celebrates the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Many of the panels have a personal connection to employees of Eisenhower Health.

Created in 1987, the Quilt consists of more than 50,000 3-foot by 6-foot panels that have been individually sewn together into 6.000 12-foot x 12-foot block sections which, in its entirety weighs more than 54 tons and encompsddrd 1.5 million square feet of fabric.

The Quilt is a source of remembrance, healing and hope. Within each panel are sewn the names and stories of more than 110,000 friends, family members, and loved ones whose precious lives were lost to this devastating disease.

A powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic, the Quilt is a symbol of social justice and an important educational resource to help ensure that our nation never forgets the 700,000 lives lost in the United States from AIDS-related causes.

Today, four decades into the AIDS pandemic, more than 1.2 million people in the United States live with HIV. While there is not yet a cure, medical research and treatments now provides greater hope for a future free of HIV and AIDS.

Written by Steven Henke.