AIDS Quilt Panels Coming To Newtown

By Tanjua Damon

Four of the 44,000 panels of the AIDS Project Memorial Quilt will be on display at Newtown High School from November 27 through December 1. In its entirety, the quilt contains 83,000 names of people who have lost their lives to the disease.

Just the statistics about the quilt are amazing enough to bring visitors to view the world’s largest ongoing community arts project. The quilt is 50 miles long, is 792,000 square feet or 16 football fields, and weighs 50 tons. Families and friends who have been affected directly by AIDS have created 44,000 three foot by six foot panels. One panel consists of eight smaller individual panels that are sewn together. The 83,000 names on the quilt represent about 19 percent of AIDS deaths in the United States alone.

Aside from the statistics, the message the quilt sends to people is another reason almost 14 million have viewed portions of the masterpiece. The last time the entire quilt was displayed was in October 1996. It covered the entire National Mall in Washington, DC.

“There are several different dimensions to it,” said Jane Todorski, assistant director of Newtown Youth Services. “It’s a beautiful thing to look at and it celebrates the lives of people who are remembered on the panels.”

NYCAAP (Newtown Youths Creating AIDS Awareness for Peers) is sponsoring the four panels that are coming to Newtown next week. The four panels that can be viewed at the high school honor Arthur Ashe, the tennis player, Alison Gertz, about whom students learn in health class, Freddie Mercury, the lead singer for Queen, and Mark J. Bouteiller, the cousin of a NYCAAP member.

“It’s an emotional way to help people raise awareness,” Laura Amedeo, secretary of NYCAAP, said. “HIV/AIDS are real things that affect real people. It’s a time when a lot of people reflect on things they have done or put themselves at risk.”

Kate Bouteiller, a NYCAAP member and whose cousin Mark died from the disease, wanted to see his panel come home not only for herself, but also her family.

“I really asked Jane to bring it. I knew my family would like to see his part of the quilt come home. He was from Danbury and died about eight years ago,” Kate said. “I think it is a way for the public to realize it affects real people. Sometimes seeing the quilt or knowing someone who suffers from AIDS makes people realize it happens.”

The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is a tool for prevention education. It memorializes the lives lost to AIDS. The project began in 1987 in San Francisco with a group of people who wanted to create a memorial and help people understand the devastating impact the disease can have. The idea was brought to life by Cleve Jones and was displayed for the first time on October 11, 1987, during the National March in Washington DC, for Lesbian and Gay rights.

“You get a feel for family members who put time into making the panels. It is a reflective experience and sadly there is also the AIDS awareness piece especially for the kids,” Mrs Todorski said. “The quilt really brings home to them the consequences.”

Remembering all the people who have lost their lives to the disease that still has no cure is an aspect of the quilt that brings more and more people who do not know each other together. During the display of the quilt the names of those who have died are read out loud.

“The quilt also connects people to people. The last time, people came forward to speak. People’s lives were weaving together like a quilt,” Mrs Todorski said. “Spontaneously people called out the names of people they knew. It’s great comfort for people who have lost someone. There is still a stigma. It’s a place for people to go.”

The quilt will be on display beginning Monday, November 27. On Tuesday, November 28, a special observance will take place for middle school students and their families to view the quilt from 6 to 8 pm.

On Thursday, November 30, a vigil will be held on the eve of World AIDS Day beginning at 7 pm. The quilt is open to the public at this time.

A food drive is being held while the Quilt is on display for Interfaith AIDS Ministry. Donations of non-perishable food will be accepted at Newtown Youth Services or brought to the high school on the community evenings.

For more information, contact Newtown Youth Services at 270-4335.