Community input needed for display of AIDS Memorial Quilt display at MVCC
Sections of the internationally celebrated AIDS Memorial Quilt — the 54-ton, handmade tapestry that stands as a memorial to more than 94,000 individuals lost to AIDS — will be on display at Mohawk Valley Community College in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. This free display of The Quilt, sponsored by MVCC Student Congress, is open to the public and is being hosted by MVCC’s LGBTQ Committee, which is asking the community for help in making the event even more meaningful to the Mohawk Valley.
If you would like to request a specific panel of The Quilt representing a family member or loved one for potential inclusion in the display, please contact LGBTQ Committee member Jennifer Fanelli with your request at jfanelli@mvcc.edu or 315-792-5440. The committee will collect requests to submit to the NAMES Project Foundation, which are due by Friday, Oct. 8.
Established in 1987, The NAMES Project Foundation is the international organization that is the custodian of The AIDS Memorial Quilt. The Quilt began with a single 3 x 6-foot panel created in San Francisco. Today, The Quilt is composed of more than 48,000 individual 3 x 6-foot panels, each one commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS. These panels come from every state in the nation, every corner of the globe, and have been sown by hundreds of thousands of friends, lovers, and family members into this epic memorial, the largest piece of ongoing community art in the world. In a war against a disease that has no cure, The Quilt has evolved as a potent tool in the effort to educate against the lethal threat of AIDS. By revealing the humanity behind the statistics, The Quilt helps teach compassion, triumphs over taboo, stigma, and phobia; and inspires individuals to take direct responsibility for their own well-being and that of their family, friends, and community. For more information on The NAMES Project and The AIDS Memorial Quilt, visit www.aidsquilt.org.
Mohawk Valley Community College, established in 1946, is New York State’s first community college with a mission to provide accessible, high-quality educational opportunities for everyone. As the community college, MVCC is committed to student success through partnerships, transfer and career pathways, and personal enrichment. With campuses in Utica and Rome, MVCC is the region’s primary provider of college education, offering 90 degree and certificate options for its enrollment of 6,000 full- and part-time students. MVCC also serves an additional 6,000 people through its corporate and community education programs, and its campuses welcome more than 50,000 people annually for community events.
