This World AIDS Day, the Bloomsbury Network is working with the Bloomsbury Clinic and AIDS Quilt UK on plans to bring part of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt to Bloomsbury – and we would love our community to be involved.
We hope to display one or more panels from the existing UK AIDS Memorial Quilt at the Bloomsbury Clinic in the weeks surrounding World AIDS Day on Tuesday 1 December 2026.
Alongside the display, we are planning a special UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Forum on Wednesday 18 November, from 18:00–20:00, followed by the Bloomsbury Clinic's World AIDS Day event on Thursday 26 November.
These events will lead into an exciting longer-term project beginning in January 2027: bringing people from the Bloomsbury community together to create quilts of our own.
The story behind the AIDS Memorial Quilt
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is much more than a piece of art. It is a powerful record of lives, love, loss and the history of the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
The project began in the United States during the height of the AIDS crisis, when people began creating individual fabric panels to remember friends, partners and family members who had died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Many of the panels are deeply personal, incorporating names, photographs, clothing, messages and objects that tell something about the person being remembered.
The traditional individual panels measure 3ft by 6ft – approximately the size of an average grave plot. Over time, the project grew into an extraordinary international movement, with quilt projects and contributions created in more than 40 countries.
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt preserves an important part of that history. Bringing panels to Bloomsbury gives us an opportunity not only to remember those who were lost, but also to talk about how dramatically life with HIV has changed and why the stories represented by the Quilt must continue to be told.
Marking World AIDS Day at Bloomsbury
We have several activities planned around World AIDS Day, giving members of our community opportunities to learn about the Quilt, share memories and become involved.
Wednesday 18 November 2026 | 18:00–20:00 | UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Forum
Duncan Catterall Room, Mortimer Market Centre, London, and online
Bloomsbury Network will be joining the Bloomsbury Clinic Peer Support Team and AIDS Quilt UK for a special hybrid forum exploring the history and significance of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt.
The evening will offer an opportunity to learn about the stories behind the panels, the people they commemorate and the continuing importance of the Quilt today. Those unable to attend in person will be able to join online.
Thursday 26 November 2026 | Bloomsbury Clinic World AIDS Day Event
Bloomsbury Clinic, Mortimer Market Centre, London
The Bloomsbury Clinic will be holding an event ahead of World AIDS Day, bringing people together to remember those we've lost and reflect on the experiences of people living with HIV today.
Further details about the event will be shared nearer the time.
Tuesday 1 December 2026 | World AIDS Day
We hope to have selected panels from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at the Bloomsbury Clinic during the weeks surrounding World AIDS Day.
Importantly, we want people who use Bloomsbury's services to be part of deciding which panels are displayed.
Our current idea is to invite people attending our peer activities to help shortlist panels, before arranging an opportunity for interested participants to see the Quilt collection and help make the final choice.
Why the Quilt still matters
HIV treatment and understanding have transformed since many of the original panels were created.
Today, effective treatment means people living with HIV can live long and healthy lives, and someone living with HIV who has an undetectable viral load cannot pass HIV on sexually – Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U).
But the history represented by the Quilt remains incredibly important.
It remembers people whose lives might otherwise have gone unrecognised. It provides a visual record of the enormous human impact of the AIDS epidemic and the communities that responded with love, activism, care and creativity.
It can also open conversations about HIV today – including the stigma and misinformation that still exist.
There is something particularly powerful about telling these stories through fabric, clothing, photographs, words and other personal materials. Each panel is both a memorial and a piece of art, created to communicate something about a life and the people who loved them.
Creating Bloomsbury Quilts Together – Starting January 2027
Our plans do not end with World AIDS Day.
From Thursday 14 January 2027, the Bloomsbury Clinic BBV Peer Support Team will be hosting twice-monthly quilt-making evenings, bringing people together to work on two special projects.
One quilt will commemorate people lost to HIV, with the intention that it becomes part of the wider UK AIDS Memorial Quilt collection. The second will remember people lost to Hepatitis B, bringing the spirit and concept of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to the Hepatitis B community.
Exactly what these quilts look like is something we want participants to help decide.
They could be inspired by the history of the Bloomsbury Clinic, include personal memories and experiences, or explore what Bloomsbury and the HIV and Hepatitis B communities mean to the people involved.
The project will begin with conversations and creative activities, asking questions such as "What does Bloomsbury mean to you?" before developing those ideas into shared designs.
No sewing or creative experience is needed. The emphasis will be on coming together, sharing experiences and creating something meaningful as a community, with support and guidance available throughout.
Once completed, we hope the quilts can be displayed at the clinic, with the HIV memorial quilt potentially joining the wider UK AIDS Memorial Quilt collection.
Further dates and details about the quilt-making evenings will be shared soon.
Would you like to be involved?
We would really like to hear from anyone in the Bloomsbury community who would be interested in taking part.
You might want to:
- Help choose the AIDS Memorial Quilt panels displayed at Bloomsbury
- Attend our Quilt Forum on 18 November
- Learn more about the history of the AIDS Memorial Quilt
- Join our quilt-making evenings from 14 January 2027
- Contribute ideas, memories, fabric or creativity
- Help support or facilitate future quilt-making sessions
You do not need any previous sewing, textile or art experience. Equally, if you do have creative skills or experience that you would like to share, we would be delighted to hear from you.
We want the people who take part to help decide what these quilts become and how we create them together.
If you would be interested in taking part in any aspect of the project, please contact the Bloomsbury Network at admin@bloomsburynetwork.co.uk or speak to the Bloomsbury Clinic Peer Support Team.
We'll share further information about the Quilt Forum, World AIDS Day activities and the quilt-making evenings as details are finalised.