Aids memorial quilt patches on display at university

A man who helped to design parts of a quilt in memory of people who lost their lives to HIV and Aids says he hopes to bring the full work to Brighton in the future.

Harry Hillery helped to design panels of the UK Aids Memorial Quilt, which are set to go on display at the University of Brighton from Friday to Sunday.

Hillery said he hoped the full quilt, which went on display at the Tate Modern in 2025, could eventually also come back to the city, having last been on display in Brighton in 1993.

"I'm hoping that people connect with the past and that it informs the present," he said.

The community arts project is believed to have been started around 1989 and consists of 42 quilts and 23 individual panels representing more than 380 individuals.

"Although it seems like a long time ago, there are tens of thousands of people in the UK receiving care still," said Hillery.

"It hasn't gone away and the quilt brings that back to the table."

About 108,000 people in the UK were receiving treatment for HIV in 2023, according to the National Aids Trust.

Hillery designed three patches of the quilt, each of which remember someone in the UK who died as a result of HIV or Aids.

Each patch is then combined into a panel of eight which can then be sewn together and added to the full UK quilt.

Eight panels will go on display at the Elm House building in the university's Moulescoomb campus.

Jess Moriaty, a lecturer at the university who has collaborated on the project, said: "Harry has taught me so much about the people whom the quilt seeks to remember, honour and celebrate.

"The stigma around HIV and Aids hasn't gone away and I hope lots of people take the time to come and see it in Elm House - it really is full of history, humanity and love."

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