Coming Together for the Cure

TATT 2: Coming Together for the Cure

When I was offered the opportunity to design a piece to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT at the 2012 Smithsonian Folk Festival in Washington DC, I put on my really big thinking cap. The art had to be very special. Iconic-like. It had to cross all racial, sexual and gender barriers to be most effective. And it had to have a dollop of flair and fashion because, well, that’s just who we are, right?

The design I came up with proved a success when my gay male friends looked at it and saw two men, my lesbian friends saw two women, and my straight friends saw a straight couple. And everybody wanted it! At least for me (my worst critic) the goal was met and the mission accomplished. Absolutely.

My clever friend Gloria came up with the title. TATT 2: Coming Together for the Cure. They’re sold in sets of 6 and available at the AIDS Memorial Quilt pop-up store in DC until the end of the July. But guess what? I held onto a few sets. And they’re available for purchase on the FASHION+ART Gallery website!

A portion of each set sold will benefit The NAMES Project Foundation, the custodians of The Quilt. They’re a group of tireless warriors whose mission is to preserve and care for the Quilt while promoting a need for healing and awareness in the ongoing struggle against HIV and AIDS. Just about all of us have lost a loved one to this disease so please, show your support. The fight goes on!