24 KITCHEN STREET TO EXHIBIT A SELECTION OF PANELS FROM THE UK AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT WITH SAHIR HOUSE FOR WORLD AIDS DAY

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This year marks 40 years since the first reports of what is now known as HIV.

From World AIDS Day 1^St December – 5^th December 2021, 24 Kitchen Street in Liverpool will exhibit handmade panels from the UK AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT.

This is the first time in UK History UK AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT has been exhibited inside a nightclub. The Nobel Peace Prize nominated AIDS QUILT commemorates lives lost to the AIDS pandemic during the 1980s and 90s.

Traditionally nightclubs were, and still are, a space where most Queer people feel safe enough to exist authentically. 

This exhibit is part of a wider programme of work to be released mid-September – full information will be released then.

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Serena Cavanagh, Health Promotion Lead, Sahir House, said: ‘We are very excited to be working with 24 Kitchen Street to continue our work to reduce the stigma that still surrounds HIV and HIV testing.  The quilts enable us to reflect on our history but also look forward to our goal of ending new transmissions by 2030.

Our HIV positive guest speakers who will be attending some of the events really bring HIV to life and help dispel the myths that still surround the virus.’ 
Josiah Worth, Partnership Development Coordinator at 24 Kitchen Street, said: ‘This project was born from the rage and love of our Queer community’s unwavering resilience. Connecting with this priceless historical relic in a space created for us and by us, is reinforcing how Queer people can affect real change worldwide on a historic scale.’

Jonas Roberts, Production & Development Manager at 24 Kitchen Street, said:‘Club culture has become too disjointed from its Queer roots. It’s time for us to acknowledge and pay homage to Queer history.’

About 24 Kitchen Street:
24 Kitchen Street is a multidisciplinary arts venue based in Liverpool’s creative hub, the Baltic Triangle. It specialises in Black Music and Culture and Queer Music and Culture and explores the intersectionality of both. In Feb 2021 24 Kitchen Street CIC was incorporated to provide more opportunities to provide support for the communities we work with.

About Sahir House:
Sahir House has been offering HIV support, prevention, information and training across Merseyside since 1985.  Sahir House increases HIV and sexual health knowledge, reduces stigma and campaigns for the rights for those living with HIV and related intersectionality’s (gender, sexuality, asylum status).
www.sahir.org.uk

About the UK AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT:
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is a precious queer artefact. Each of the panels is 3ft X 6ft to signify the average size of a grave. The Nobel Peace Prize nominated AIDS QUILT commemorates lives lost to the AIDS pandemic during the 1980s and 90s. It is a public naming of loved ones lost, and a memorial for the many who died and went unnamed too. It is part of an international movement that sought to raise awareness of the impact of the AIDS pandemic and ensure that these lives would never be forgotten.
www.aidsquiltuk.org