HIV Hankie Quilt to be displayed at Sussex Beacon shop for World Aids Day

The Sussex Beacon shop in St James’s Street, Brighton is to be host to the Brighton & Hove HIV Hankie Quilt, on public display for the first time this year from November 23 until Wednesday, December 2.

The Hankie Quilt was an independent project created by community HIV activist Maurice McHale Parry to honour those lost in the city to HIV/Aids and to support those living in our communities.

The Quilt, handmade by people in the city, references many individuals who were lost during the early days of the Aids pandemic. It is based around hankie-sized squares representing memories of people who had died, embroidered or crafted by their loved ones or groups they were members of. This community response grew to become one of the emblems of the LGBTQ+ communities’ responses to HIV.

The Quilt, which will be on display in the main front windows of the Sussex Beacon shop, will be facing outwards into the street, lit throughout the darker evenings, so that everyone can have an opportunity to experience the gentle, domestic, handcrafted power of this historically important and symbolic community artefact.

Wayne Stone @ Sussex Beacon

Wayne Stone, manager of the Sussex Beacon’s St James’s Street shop, said: The Sussex Beacon is honoured to be hosting the HIV Hankie Quilt. It will be proudly displayed in our window till the day after WAD. Please come along and see this amazing quilt in all its glory, lit up and on display.

Bill Puddicombe @ Sussex Beacon

Bill Puddicombe, executive director of the Sussex Beacon, said:

The Sussex Beacon has always been at the heart of the community’s response to HIV/Aids. We’re proud to be displaying the Quilt, which represents memories and hope for all people affected by HIV. We’re grateful for the continuing support of the Brighton Rainbow Fund and to the WAD Community Partnership. This year the day will be different, but the issues and the necessity of remembering the continuing harm caused by HIV are always the same.

Chris Gull @ Rainbow Fund

Chris Gull, chair of the Brighton Rainbow Fund, added:

The Brighton Rainbow Fund has been entrusted as official guardians of the Hankie Quilt, as indeed we are of the Aids Memorial. We do this on behalf of all the HIV projects and organisations in Brighton & Hove. We’d like to thank the Sussex Beacon, and the WAD partnership for arranging for this important piece of our community’s history to be displayed. The Quilt is handcrafted and created with love in remembrance of those who lost their lives to this virus. It is particularly poignant this year as we are reminded how we, as a community, responded and worked together to provide support and love, and demanded to be heard.

www.sussexbeacon.org.uk

www.rainbow-fund.org