Coventry's first AIDS memorial quilt to be unveiled this Monday (19 February) in celebration of LGBT history month

Coventry’s first AIDS memorial quilt has been created to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have died from the LGBTQIA+ community and also educate everyone that people can live with HIV given the four decades of medical advancement since the UK’s first HIV diagnosis.

The quilt, which has been commissioned by Coventry Pride as part of the Cover Up Quilts Project with funding from Coventry City Council, will be on display at St Mary’s Guildhall from 19TH February to 16th March, with an official unveiling on 19 February from 6pm to 8pm.

The unveiling event is free with a £1 booking fee and will feature a talk on the project’s origins and its place in wider LGBTQ history. Plus, there will be a zine-making workshop led by the Coventry Queer Writers group.  

The Cover Up Quilts Project is a community arts and education project conceived by Birmingham based artist, HIV activist and founder of the Birmingham AIDS and HIV memorial (BAHM), Garry Jones.

The Coventry Quilt, designed by Jones, with support from Richard Harty and Peter Ambler, will be added to more than 40 other panels to help educate a wider audience on what HIV is today, stop myths, fears, prejudice and stigma, and inform people that those with the virus can live a long life with no risk of transmission to others.

The project is inspired by the NAMES project AIDS memorial quilt which began in San Francisco in 1985 with the aim of celebrating the lives of those lost to AIDS-related causes. It is the largest community folk art in the world and as of 2020 consists of 54 tonnes of tapestry featuring nearly 50,000 quilts.

Niamh Carton at St Mary’s Guildhall, which is operated by No Ordinary Hospitality, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the unveiling of Coventry’s first AIDS memorial quilt in celebration of this year’s LGBTQ History Month.

“The Coventry Quilt will serve as an important tool to reduce stigma and educate audiences on life with HIV and AIDS in 2024, and we are looking forward to bringing the Coventry public together through this incredibly important project.”

Richard Harty, a trustee of Coventry Pride, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Garry Jones, Coventry City Council and The Guildhall in what we hope will be an important opportunity to reflect on a time when LGBTQIA+ people who contracted HIV and lost their lives were treated so shamefully leaving an indelible scar and stain on our society.

“Gay men in particular were persecuted for what is now seen as a treatable matter. This must never happen again.”

Garry Jones, the quilt designer, said: “The design of the Coventry AIDS & HIV Quilt looks back historically at the city using sky blue, the colour of Coventry, and the silhouette of Lady Godiva on horseback embraced by the red ribbon to show that the people of Coventry care.

“The quilt also features the words Remember: to never forget those lost to AIDS. Celebrate: their lives & those on effective treatment living with HIV. Educate: to encourage testing & to stop the outdated stigma of HIV today’.”

Councillor Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport, added: “This is a really important project and a unique way of highlighting HIV and remembering those who we have sadly lost to it.

“Coventry has a high rate of HIV; it impacts people from all ethnicities and sexualities, and we implore everyone to get tested. Alongside our regular public health work and campaigns, we engage in creative community projects like this as they can help us reach more people to achieve better testing rates.”

St Mary’s Community engagement programme is supported thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.  The recent major package of restoration and refurbishment at St Mary’s Guildhall has been made possible through the Cultural Capital Investment Fund resourced by Coventry City Council, Arts Council England, and the Government’s Getting Britain Building Fund through Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, and with the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.

Find out more about HIV testing in Coventry at https://www.coventry.gov.uk/health-wellbeing.