New York Memorial Quilt Records

Provenance

The New York Memorial Quilt was housed at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center as a joint project of the Center and the Heritage of Pride. The project disbanded in 1988 and its records were given to the Center Archive in 1990 by Mark Johnson, the last head of the project.

Scope and Content

A collection of diverse records and other materials from the New York Memorial Quilt project. Materials include photo contact sheets, announcements, an audio tape, and short biographical materials on people who died of AIDS in the New York City area. The collection reflects both simple compassion and hard work.

History or Bio

The New York Memorial Quilt was a joint project of the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center and the Heritage of Pride. It was originally coordinated by Wes Cronk and Jordan Friedman. Memorial quilt panels were produced at the Center Quilt Workshop from February to July or August 1988. In July of 1988 the coordination of the workshop was taken over by Mark Johnson. Staff included Peter Caaban, Elaine Matthews, Robert Pesce, Susan Sanders, and Margot Hilson. They helped friends and family of people who had died of AIDS to produce quilt panels made to the specifications of the Names Project. Through this effort family and friends were given an outlet for their grief and others became more informed about the AIDS epidemic. The 1200 panels produced at the workshop were displayed on the Great Lawn in Central Park in June 1988, and were then shipped to the Names Project in San Francisco. A few panels completed after that date were shipped later.

Folder List