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The AIDS Memorial Quilt, comprising
more than 47,000 panels that honor more than 93,000 people, will be displayed
in its entirety July 21-25, during the International AIDS Conference in the
District of Columbia. Before that, sections of it can be seen during the Smithsonian
Folklife Festival starting June 27 - the 25th anniversary of the first quilt
display in San Francisco, when it had just 40 panels.
Three new interactive digital tools
are being introduced to help people explore the quilt and understand its
significance. At the Smithsonian festival, a four-foot-long table with an
interactive touchscreen will be available for users to search for panels by
name. Also, there will be a 50-inch wall screen with an interactive timeline of
the quilt and the AIDS epidemic. Finally, a mobile app will be available for
www.aidsquilttouch.org, a website where visitors can search, view, and comment
on the panels. During the AIDS conference, visitors can use the app to find the
physical location of panels displayed on the National Mall and in more than 50
venues around Washington.
Ann Balsamo, a professor of
interactive media and communication at the University of Southern California,
is coordinating the digital project, developed by several universities and
Microsoft. “The quilt is a very important, but fragile memorial,” she said,
adding that the new technology will make it available to a wider audience.
The Names Project Foundation is the
custodian of the quilt. According to Julie Rhoad, president of the
Atlanta-based foundation, the quilt is a reminder that people with HIV still
matter and that the disease still kills. Despite great advances in treatment,
she noted, “Those who have no access to care are dying rapid, hard deaths, and
they are invisible.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
