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Everyone can get involved, whether you are living with HIV or an ally to the U=U message.
Positive East will create three 2,030mm x 2,030mm (6.5′ x 6.5′) quilt panels, comprised of thousands of selfies from the community to help celebrate the powerful message of U=U.
The individual selfies will be printed on fabrics then hand stitched together, celebrating each individual and their contribution to the U=U movement.
Overlayed will be the three, but simple and powerful letters U = U. From far away these letters will be clearly visible, however as you approach the quilt panels, the letters will dissolve unfolding a diverse mosaic of individuals from our community.
We are in an era of tangible progress in the history of HIV with significant medical and scientific advancements evolving rapidly. The shadow that HIV once cast across our communities is now starting to fall behind us. Notions of fear and grief are being replaced by notions of hope and prosperity.
U=U is central to this, meaning that if you are adhering to your HIV medicine, and have an undetectable viral load it is biologically impossible to pass the virus on sexually. This crucial message helps us to break the cycle of HIV stigma, as well as being central to our ambition to eliminate new HIV transmissions by 2030.
To help promote this transformative message, Positive East has developed the U=U community quilt project.
Get involved and add your selfie to the U=U quilt. Help celebrate U=U and all those lives that have been shaped by this era of optimism. For more information email ian.montgomery@positiveeast.org.uk
Acknowledging the powerful history of the UK AIDS Quilt – established to memorialise those lives cut short due to HIV and AIDS – Positive East will create three 2,030mm x 2,030mm (6.5′ x 6.5′) quilt panels, comprised of hundreds of selfies of both those living with HIV as well as allies of the U=U message.
We will craft the U=U with the same love and care as the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt, to be an ongoing testament and powerful reminder for future generations. The U=U quilt in many ways will allow us to reimagine the AIDS quilt in the historic era of U=U.
This project has been kindly supported by the BHIVA Laura Waters Community Award.
Simply submit a selfie via the portal, and we will add this to the final quilt panel. Upon completion, each selfie will measure approximately 10cm x 10cm and will be stitched together to create the three quilt panels.
Selfie format, please submit an image, either in PNG, JPG or JPEG formats.
Positive East will archive the quilt panels, however they will tour the country to convey the powerful message of U=U. We will also develop an accompanying animation video using the selfies to further the message of U=U to a broader audience.
We will host stitching parties in the spring of summer of 2025, to stitch the selfies together. More information to follow.
Artist bio
Positive East is honoured to work with the artist Chiara Ambrosio who will lead on the project.
Chiara Ambrosio is a London-based filmmaker and visual artist, working across media to explore the ways in which we perceive, remember, and articulate personal and collective histories and a sense of place.
Her work pays witness to that which struggles on the fringes of dominant narratives- communities, landscapes, stories, objects, perceptions, sensibilities- excluded and marginalised for a variety of different reasons but always fundamental to our understanding of what makes us human. Her work includes collaborations with musicians, composers and anthropologists, and has been presented extensively both nationally and internationally at venues such as The Whitechapel Gallery, Anthology Film Archives and La Cinematheque Francaise.
Chiara also produces “Raft”, a monthly radio show on London’s Resonance 104.4 fm radio station, where she embarks on walks across the city with other Londoners, reaping and sowing stories within its streets.
