AIDS Memorial Quilt on display in NAU Fieldhouse

A 54-ton handmade tapestry that stands as a memorial to more than 92,000 people who lost their lives to AIDS will be on display Dec. 1-3 in the University Union Fieldhouse.

The free display consists of 160 individual quilt panels in 20 blocks that were created by friends, lovers and family members spanning 37 countries as a way of transforming their loss and heartbreak into hope and healing. It began in San Francisco more than 20 years ago with a single 3×6-foot panel and today is an epic tapestry featuring more than 47,000 panels.

The quilt can be viewed in the Fieldhouse, bldg. 30, from noon to 8 p.m. Dec. 1; from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 2; and from noon to 8 p.m. Dec. 3. An opening ceremony is planned at the Fieldhouse at noon Dec. 1, and a closing ceremony will be held there at 4 p.m. Dec. 3.

Other events planned as part of the exhibit include free HIV testing from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, in the Health and Learning Center’s health promotions small conference room. A free screening of A Closer Walk, a film about AIDS in the world, will be held at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, in the Native American Cultural Center gathering room, and at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in the University Union Kaibab Room. Discussions will follow.

For information, contact Laura Theimer in the College of Education at (928) 523-8746 or Laura.Theimer@nau.edu.