Working with the Terrence Higgins Trust: Terry Higgins Memorial Quilt

We all know that quilters have big hearts, valuable skills and a desire to share the craft with others. That?s why we were delighted to have so many of our community members volunteer their time and skills to work on a collaborative project led by Terrence Higgins Trust. Since 2022, the project has been quietly progressing and we are now able to give you more juicy details on this fabulous work!

Background

Terry Higgins was one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS-related illness. He died aged 37, on 4 July 1982 at St Thomas' Hospital, London. By naming the trust after Terry, the founder members ? his partner and friends ? hoped to personalise and humanise AIDS in a very public way. The Terrence Higgins Trust has gone on to become the UK?s leading HIV and sexual health charity, supporting people to live well with HIV. The charity is also working towards ending new cases of HIV by 2030. 2022 marked 40 years since Terry Higgins died ? the Terry Higgins Memorial Quilt was created to honour this special 40th anniversary.

About The AIDS Quilt

The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt (also known as The Names Project) is an enormous memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related illnesses. It includes 48 quilts (coverlets) ? each one a 12ft x 12ft panel and comprised of eight smaller panels sized 6ft x 3ft. Each individual panel was lovingly made by friends, lovers, or family of someone lost to AIDS-related illnesses. Lives commemorated include writer Bruce Chatwin, film maker Derek Jarman, actors Ian Charleson and Denham Elliot, and the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. There is currently no panel for Terry Higgins.

Terry?s Quilt

Terry?s quilt is being produced to the same dimensions as the other AIDS quilts and also consists of eight panels, each representing different aspects of Terry?s life. The Terrence Higgins Trust heart logo will form an integral part of the design. The finished quilt will be displayed at The Festival of Quilts 2023 and will subsequently be bequeathed to the existing UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Conservation Partnership.

Each panel is being designed and overseen by different groups of people who have some connection to Terry?s life. This includes his lover Rupert Whittaker, friends, work colleagues, members of the Royal Navy and Hansard (two of Terry?s former employers), and Terrence Higgins Trust staff. Two panels include commissioned work from artists Nathan Wyburn and Paula Doyle. Our wonderful Guild volunteers, including our Young Quilters are working alongside these groups, offering as much support, advice and guidance as needed. Aurifil are generously donating thread for each of the panels in support of this project.

The overall quilt project is being overseen by Rupert Whitaker ? founder of Terrence Higgins Trust and Terry?s partner, and Martyn Butler ? co-founder and Terry?s friend, as well as Linda Payan and Maxine Saunders friends of Terry?s.

What?s next?

We will continue to share with you sneak peeks of progress over the coming months, and hope that you will be as excited as us about the big reveal at The Festival of Quilts this summer! In the meantime, here are some important facts about HIV that we?d like to share:

? Effective HIV treatment means you can?t pass on the virus.

? There?s a drug that stops you from getting HIV.

? You can safely and accurately test for HIV without visiting a clinic.

? ?HIV is not a barrier to anything? said Gareth Thomas who completed an Iron Man in Tenby, Wales on the day he first spoke publicly about his HIV status.

? We are in a position to end all HIV cases by 2030 due to the tireless work of HIV activists.

Let?s stop the stigma associated with HIV.

Terrence Higgins Trust