New York: Memorial Quilt Helps Students Learn About Impact of AIDS

Inspired by a visit to an AIDS Memorial Quilt display last year, eighth-grade students at Dutchess Day School recently created panels and portraits portraying the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Last year, the students went to a display of quilt panels in Albany with science teacher Diane Duffus and art teacher Alison MacFarlane. "This visual impact of seeing the quilt was overwhelming as well as inspiring," said MacFarlane. "The room was full of life. I wanted to give these kids the experience of honoring all these human beings who could easily be touched by AIDS."

She had the students create fabric and multimedia panels based on photos of people potentially impacted by the disease from around the world. Their effort, titled "Faces with NAMES," was produced in conjunction with the Albany chapter of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Each panel contains six portraits, the title of the project and the school's name. Some portraits are of strangers, but a few represent students' relatives and friends lost to the disease.

On Dec. 7, the students shared their work and experiences with Mary Lou Hamlin, a representative of the Albany chapter of the NAMES Foundation, which manages the quilt. Hamlin then discussed HIV/AIDS awareness and education with six-, seventh,- and eighth-graders at Dutchess.

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