Positive Life NSW

The Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt is a heart-warming legacy honouring those we lost in early days of HIV. It’s taken nearly eight years, but a large collection of panels now have a permanent home at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. Quilt convenor Philip Diment and museum registrar Nicky Balmer tell us about a new project to keep the memories alive.

There is no doubt that the AIDS Memorial Quilt provokes strong, often polar, reactions. Some see it as a disturbing reminder of the early ravages of HIV/AIDS; a relic from a time when little was known about the virus and we helplessly watched our friends and lovers die. A time some of us would rather forget. For others, it is a poignant reminder of those times and the people we lost; it allows us to reflect on how far we have come and how different our world is today. Then, there is a whole new generation who know nothing about the quilt; for them, it can be a powerful educational tool, if they can see it.

Therein lies the challenge. The last full display of the Australian quilt was in 2003. Its future had been uncertain for many years and it seemed to lapse from memory or at least from public conscience.

The Quilt Project, led by convenor Philip Diment and a number of volunteers, had been working diligently to secure a permanent home for the quilt to ensure it would not be lost. Philip first became involved with the quilt as a volunteer in the 1990s and later became the convenor in 2002. A number of community consultations were held around that time to determine the quilt’s future.

The Quilt Project wanted to ensure there was a permanent home for the panels. “I started thinking that we needed to build a special building,” Philip recalled. He then began to consider museums that had the capacity to store and care for the quilt. “It took nearly five years,” he said, but in the end he was able to secure a home for the panels at the Powerhouse Museum.

“The Powerhouse is now the custodian of the NSW quilt and will carry on the aims of the Quilt Project for access to and display and education about the quilt,” Philip said. “There are still panels in Melbourne and Adelaide.”
Although the purpose of the quilt may have changed over time, Philip believes the quilt is as relevant today as it was in the early 90s. “The changes in circumstances of the quilt are interesting; it was first used as a political tool to raise awareness in the USA. Here in Australia, it was not necessarily needed for political awareness, but more as a visible presence. It is a strong statement and visible presence; it is more of a memorial.”

Powerhouse Museum registrar Nicky Balmer said that in acquiring the quilt, “The original intention was that we would have one of the collection of panels on display at the Powerhouse Discover Centre at Castle Hill that would be changed over at regular intervals to allow the display of different sections of the quilt.” However, the museum, together with a team of enthusiastic volunteers, is also collecting information about those whose lives are celebrated in the panels and the people who created them.

“It is as much about remembering the person who is on the panel, as well as the person who made the panel, their history and what made them get involved,” Nicky explained. “You can’t be with the quilt and not realise it represents all these people. You just have to sit down and read about the person.”

Philip added, “It’s the stories behind them and that is the thrust of the Powerhouse project, to look at this lost generation.”

Nicky and her team of volunteers are hoping that people will come forward and share their stories about the quilt. She is optimistic that people will be more willing to have their stories told.

“At the time, it would have been too much of an emotional experience to give much information about the person, but as time has passed, it might be easier to do so,” she suggested. “It’s a different world now.”

Philip said, “Time has to pass to get over the grief and pain, and I think that is what is happening with the quilt.”

Still, the project has its challenges. The Powerhouse is hoping to make the panels and information about them and their maker available online within one year. Nicky wants to ensure that these people are not forgotten, but, while there is a need to document these stories, she understands there is a need to balance this with the right to privacy.

There are also issues about the preservation of the panels. The panels are being stored at the Powerhouse’s Castle Hill site, where they are folded on trays and packed with material to stop colour bleed. However, the panels can still be accessed by request with advance notice.

Now that the quilt has a permanent home, it is hoped that it will be preserved for prosperity and education.

“You always have to preface any discussion of the quilt by asking if they know what the quilt is,” said Philip. “There are some people who see it as a strong education tool about HIV/AIDS, but I think it is a strong educational tool about mortality. To see objects of people who died in their 20s and 30s, this is a powerful tool.”

Nicky concluded, “Coming to this project 20 years later, you look back in a different way. It has opened my eyes to a world I didn’t know, but it’s not quite the same as being part of the community at the time.”

Ten panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt are currently on display as part of ‘The 80s are Back’ exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo. Visit www.powerhousemuseum.com

If you have information about the quilt that you would like to share, contact Nicky Balmer at the Powerhouse Museum on 02 9217 0117.

For more information on the history of the quilt, visit:
www.aidsquilt.org/
www.aidsquilt.org.au/history.php