From June 12 to June 16, 2025, Tate Modern will host a powerful and poignant exhibition: the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt. This vast textile memorial—comprising 42 quilts and 23 individual panels, honouring 384 individuals affected by HIV and AIDS—will be laid out in a striking grid across the Turbine Hall floor. The presentation echoes the quilt’s traditional outdoor displays, which have long served as both a public memorial and a call to action in the ongoing fight against the pandemic.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt began in San Francisco in 1985, when activist Cleve Jones invited grieving friends and families to create fabric panels commemorating loved ones lost to AIDS. These individual tributes were stitched together into larger quilts and displayed in public spaces, accompanied by readings of the names—a defiant act of remembrance amid stigma and government inaction.
The UK chapter of this worldwide project took shape in the late 1980s, after Scottish activist Alistair Hulme witnessed the quilt’s impact in the US. Returning to Edinburgh, he helped establish a British version, which grew into a collective act of mourning, protest, and solidarity. One of its most significant displays came in June 1994, when sections of the US and UK quilts—alongside panels by fashion designers—were exhibited at Hyde Park Corner in the ‘Quilts of Love’ installation.
In 2014, seven UK HIV charities formed the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership to safeguard and showcase this vital artefact. Today, the quilt remains a testament to those lost—and a reminder that HIV/AIDS still affects millions worldwide. While antiretroviral treatments have transformed survival rates, access remains unequal, and stigma persists.
Siobhán Lanigan of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership reflects: “This Turbine Hall exhibition will be the largest display of the UK Quilt in history, reaching more people than ever before. Each viewing brings these names out of the shadows—celebrating lives, breaking stigma, and reinforcing the fight against HIV today. This is a milestone moment, but the work continues.”
Karin Hindsbo, Director of Tate Modern, added: “The quilt’s blend of global activism and intimate storytelling makes it a perfect fit for Tate Modern. It’s a breathtaking work of collective creativity, and we’re honoured to share it with our visitors.”
Throughout the exhibition, volunteers from the Quilt Partnership will be on hand to share stories and context. On Saturday 14 June, the names of those commemorated will be read aloud at 11:00 and 14:00—a ritual that echoes the quilt’s origins, ensuring these lives are never forgotten.
Free entry. All welcome.