The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Display is coming to Wakefield this June and WOVEN is proud to be hosting a weekend of free stitch activities alongside the exhibition.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Display comprises of 43 quilts and 24 individual panels, representing over 500 individuals lost to HIV and AIDS.
The quilt will be displayed at Wakefield Exchange and selected individual panels in various locations around the city from 4 – 7th June.
WOVEN will be hosting a series of events and workshops with artists and makers which anyone can get involved in.
On 6th June Sew Queer – a Huddersfield based monthly stitch social for the LGBTQIA+ community – is making a special road trip to Wakefield, led by Thread Republic and Crafty Octopus – where individuals can bring their own project and craft alongside others in a friendly and sociable safe space from 4-6pm.
Across the weekend Andi Walker, a Leeds based multidisciplinary artist specialising in Constructed Textiles, hosts My Stitch to You! a drop in stitch story session, encouraging participants to create a personal response to the stories behind the quilt.
Huddersfield based activist quilt maker, Chris English, hosts Quilted Postcards, sharing sessions on how to create unique quilted postcards for someone special.
Quilt pockets of love and remembrance with multi-disciplined Artist, Maker, and Facilitator Karen Stansfield, explores the art of creative stitch to fashion quilted patch pockets.
Meltham Quilters host Care, Compassion and Quilts, a friendly sewing circle that welcomes both beginners and more experienced quilters to join them for some social sewing. They will also have a selection of their special Quilts for Care available to interact with. These ‘quilted hugs’ are created for young people leaving local authority care.
This powerful artwork represents over 384 individuals affected by HIV and AIDS. It is part of the world’s largest community art project, started in the USA in 1985 by activist Cleve Jones, as a form of protest to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, and commemorating friends, family and loved ones lost to AIDS.
Seven UK HIV support charities formed the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership in 2014 to conserve and display the quilt. Wakefield is the first city to welcome the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt outside of London.
Find out more on our What’s On page
Find out more about the UK AIDS Memorial Display including opening times here
