Mohawk Valley Community College is asking area residents to help shape a public display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt planned for late November and early December in Utica. MVCC Seeks Names for 2026 AIDS Memorial Quilt Display
Sections of the internationally known memorial will be displayed at MVCC from Monday, Nov. 30, through Friday, Dec. 4, 2026. The free exhibition will coincide with World AIDS Day, which is observed each year on Dec. 1.
MVCC’s LGBTQ Workgroup is inviting local families, friends and community members to request a Quilt panel that honors a specific loved one. Requests must be emailed to Jennifer Fanelli at jfanelli@mvcc.edu by Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The community’s participation is vital for the success of this important event. MVCC Seeks Names for 2026 AIDS Memorial Quilt Display and encourages everyone to contribute.
The workgroup will gather the requests and submit them to the organization that cares for the Quilt. MVCC said a request is for possible inclusion, so residents should understand that a particular panel cannot be guaranteed.
A local chance to add personal meaning
The request process gives Mohawk Valley residents an opportunity to make a national memorial deeply personal. A panel connected to someone from Utica, Oneida County or the surrounding region could help visitors see the AIDS epidemic not only as history, but as a story involving local families and neighbors.
The exhibition is sponsored by MVCC Student Congress and hosted by the college’s LGBTQ Workgroup. It will be open to the public at no charge. MVCC had not yet announced daily viewing hours in the release sent Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Residents who submit a name should provide clear identifying details if possible. That can help distinguish among people with similar names. Questions about the local request process should be directed to Fanelli at the email address above.
What the AIDS Memorial Quilt represents
The Quilt began in San Francisco in 1987 with a single 3-by-6-foot panel. It grew as families, partners and friends created fabric memorials for people who died of AIDS. Those individual acts of remembrance became an enormous community artwork and a record of lives that were too often reduced to statistics.
MVCC said the full Quilt now includes more than 50,000 panels and memorializes more than 110,000 people. The National AIDS Memorial, which now serves as steward of the Quilt, describes it as the world’s largest community art project.
Each panel can carry a name, photographs, clothing, handwritten messages or other objects chosen by people who knew the person being remembered. Together, the panels document grief, love, activism and the demand for a stronger public response to HIV and AIDS.
Why World AIDS Day still matters
World AIDS Day is a time to remember people lost to AIDS, support people living with HIV and renew public education. The Quilt has long played a role in that work by putting names and human stories at the center of the discussion.
Public understanding has changed greatly since the earliest years of the epidemic. Medical treatment has also advanced. Still, stigma can keep people from seeking testing, treatment or honest conversations about their health. A public display can create a respectful setting for learning while honoring those who died.
For college students, the exhibition also offers a direct encounter with a major chapter of recent American history. The Quilt emerged from communities that organized care, demanded research and challenged public indifference. Its panels preserve that history in a form that official reports cannot fully capture.
How Mohawk Valley residents can participate
Anyone seeking a particular panel should send the request by Sept. 29 to jfanelli@mvcc.edu. The display is scheduled for Nov. 30 through Dec. 4 at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica.
Additional details about the location on campus and daily viewing schedule may be announced closer to the event. Visitors can also learn more about the memorial, its history and nationwide displays at the National AIDS Memorial website.
The local request period is brief, but its purpose is lasting. It gives Mohawk Valley families a way to ensure that the people they loved are remembered by name, and it gives the wider community a chance to listen, learn and carry those stories forward.
