People walk around large fabric artworks made from embroidered panels, which are displayed on the ground.
Plan your visit

UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Display

– YSP Centre

About UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Display

Wakefield is set to be the first city to welcome the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt, outside of London. 

In partnership with UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership and Wakefield Exchange, YSP will display 4 panels from the piece from 3-7 June. 

The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt consists of 42 quilts and 23 individual panels, representing over 384 individuals affected by HIV and AIDS. It is part of the world’s largest community art project, started in the USA in 1985 by activist Cleve Jones, commemorating friends, family and loved ones lost to AIDS. Individual panels were stitched together to create larger quilts, which were then shown outdoors as a form of protest to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.

Seven UK HIV support charities formed the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership in 2014 to conserve and display the quilt. Today it stands as an important reminder of those who were lost and of the fact that HIV and AIDS continue to affect people and communities today. 

An embroidered textile panel featuring colourful squares and text memorialising Derek, who died from AIDS.
An embroidered textile panel featuring flowers and text memorialising Richard Chappell, who died from AIDS.

Partner Venues

Over the same dates, selected individual panels will be displayed at partner venues around the district, allowing a wider audience to uncover their rich history and significance.

All 42 blocks will be displayed at WX alongside the recently rediscovered documentary film There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, about the 1994 Hyde Park display of the Quilt.

In Wakefield City Centre, venues include The Hepworth Wakefield, Theatre Royal Wakefield, The Art House, and LonGBoat CIC’s Kirkgate Station Community Gallery.

Further afield, visitors can explore the panels at Anglers Country Park, Pontefract Castle, Castleford Queens Mill, and the Maurice Dobson Museum in Darfield, Barnsley. 

Exhibition Accessibility

The exhibition is located on the ground floor of YSP Centre, in the concourse alcove. YSP Centre has flat access throughout. 

There is bench seating available on the concourse, and also in the nearby Kitchen Café. Toilet facilities, including accessible cubicles, are available on the ground and upper floors of YSP Centre. The nearest Changing Places toilet is located at YSP Learning.

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