UK AIDS Memorial Quilt to be displayed across the district
Monday, April 13, 2026
Wakefield is set to be the first city outside of London to welcome the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt in its entirety, in partnership with the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Partnership, from 4-7 June at Wakefield Exchange (WX).
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt currently consists of 42 quilts and 23 individual panels. They represent over 384 individuals affected by HIV and AIDS. The 42 blocks will be on display at Wakefield Exchange (WX) while other partner venues will be hosting individual panels.
“We’re pleased to bring the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt to Wakefield.
“It really is a deeply moving piece, with such important stories to tell.
We’re proud to host this in Wakefield Exchange and to have parts of the Quilt displayed across the district as well, for more people to see and remember.”
Mark Lynam
Corporate Director for Regeneration, Environment and Economic Growth
The Quilt is part of the world’s largest community art project, started in the USA in 1985 by activist Cleve Jones, commemorating friends, family and loved ones lost to AIDS.
Individual panels were stitched together to create larger quilts, which were then shown outdoors as a form of protest to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. Today it stands as an important reminder of those who were lost and of the fact that HIV and AIDS continue to affect people and communities today.
Over the same dates, selected individual panels will be displayed at partner venues around the district, allowing a wider audience to uncover their rich history and significance. In Wakefield city centre, venues include The Hepworth Wakefield, Theatre Royal Wakefield, The Art House, and LonGBoat CIC’s Kirkgate Station Community Gallery. Further afield, visitors can explore the panels at Anglers Country Park, Pontefract Castle, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Castleford Queens Mill, and the Maurice Dobson Museum in Darfield, Barnsley. Opening hours at these venues vary so check before traveling.
Alongside the display at WX, the exhibition will include scheduled readings of the names of those commemorated in the Quilt on Saturday 6 June. The recently rediscovered documentary film There Is A Light That Never Goes Out about the 1994 Hyde Park display of the Quilt will also be shown every day, while a late-night opening will take place on Friday 5 June. Visitors will also be able to take part in free workshops on the Saturday and Sunday. These will include craft activities for children as well as talks and quilting workshops for adults.
Find out more at: UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Display | Wakefield Exchange