By Collin Kelley
Editor

With more than 91,000 names on the AIDS Memorial Quilt, there are an abundance of stories to tell. Students at the Savannah College of Art & Design Atlanta are telling some of them with a new multi-media project.

Quilt Stories is the name of a podcast and mobile app available at iTunes that features stories about who lost their battle with AIDS  and had quilt panels made for them by friends and loved ones.

Professor Darby Sanders said The NAMES Project Foundation, which maintains the quilt and is headquartered in Atlanta, approached SCAD’s writing program about creating the project. Sanders said visiting the NAMES Project offices and seeing all the stored panels there was an eye-opening and moving experience.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know the AIDS Quilt was in Atlanta, Sanders said. “The last time I’d heard about the quilt was in the 90s, so this project will help raise the profile.”
Sanders said students spent two to three hours researching and selecting the people they wanted to profile. Many returned on their own time for further research, then tried to talk to those who created the panel for that person.

“We see this as a long term, ongoing project,” Sanders said. “We want to produce as many stories for as long as we can. These are stories that need to be told and heard.”

Parts of the AIDS Quilt are exhibited around the country as in the case with the partnership with the MODA Graphic Intervention show. Darby, who helped design the app, said the NAMES Project will also use some of the podcasts as part of those exhibitions.

Quilt Stories can be listened to in iTunes or downloaded as a mobile app for the iPad, iPhone or iPod. To find out more about the AIDS Quilt, visit aidsquilt.org.