10 Blocks from the national AIDS Memorial Quilt are set to be displayed at Marshall’s Carroll Gallery from Jun. 10 through Jul. 30. The quilt was designed by gay rights activist Cleve Jones in 1985 to memorialize those who had died of AIDS and bring awareness to the disease.

The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and admission is free for the public. There are nearly 50,000 panels in total, and over 1,000 displays exist across the country to honor those memorialized in the quilt blocks.

“It’s moving to see the outpouring of love stitched into each block,” said Jamie Platt, Marshall’s Gallery Director. “Even if you never met the person memorialized, their lives come into focus in those stitches, and you feel the impact of their loss.”

The quilt is one of the largest community art projects ever created, and honors over 110,000 individuals who have died from AIDS. To this day, new panels are still being created for the quilt. 

The reading of names is a tradition that first began during the quilt’s first display in 1987, and is now performed at nearly every display of the quilt. The tradition involves the names of those whose lives have been lost being read off as the quilt is displayed.

Currently, masks are required inside of the gallery as well as all Marshall University buildings. The Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery can be found inside of the Marshall University Visual Arts Center in downtown Huntington.