UK Aids Memorial Quilt to be shown at Tate Modern

The UK Aids Memorial Quilt collection is to be displayed in the Tate Modern in June

The UK Aids Memorial Quilt collection is to be displayed in the Tate Modern later this year.

A combination of 42 quilts and 23 individual panels, which represents about 385 people who lost their lives to HIV/Aids in the UK, will be displayed in the art gallery's Turbine Hall.

The US National Aids Memorial describes the memorial quilt as "the largest community arts project in history", with the UK quilt being "one chapter" of this project, the Tate Modern said.

It will be on display from 12 June to 16 June, with a live reading of names on the quilt taking place on 14 June.

In response to the Aids pandemic, American activist Cleve Jones formed the NAMES Project in 1985.

It invited people to create textile panels to commemorate friends, family and loved ones who died during the pandemic. The individual panels are sewn together to create larger quilts, which have in the past been shown outdoors to raise awareness about HIV and Aids.

The displays often included a reading of all the names on the panels.

The NAMES project UK was launched by Scottish activist Alistair Hulme who witnessed an early display of the NAMES Project Aids Memorial Quilt in San Francisco.