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Gilbert Smith - New Zealands AIDS Memorial Quilt [AI Text]

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Tell us about your project. The quilt project, right. The New Zealand Corp project was started in 1988 in New Zealand. Um, it was originally founded in the United States in 1985 and it was founded as a memorial to the people we lost through AIDS and, um, in New Zealand. Um, we currently have, uh, 72 panels, and that represents 100 and 28 names in New Zealand. 100 and 2800 and 28 names we have on the panels. The panels consist of, [00:00:30] um, 88 quilts make up a panel, and the panels are they tour the country and we have put them into the high schools. We take them into the high schools, and we use them as an educational tool, um, to place awareness where it's most needed with the youth of the, um of the country to put a human face to the AIDS virus and to educate, um, in that way. What sort of response have you had? A terrific response. Um, we [00:01:00] are currently trying to raise more funds to take the, um, the panels through more schools throughout New Zealand. Um, we've done most of the high schools in the Auckland area And, uh, and, uh, the lower half of the the lower half of the North Island. We're gradually working our way through there, and hopefully, um, we plan to do the south Island, um, into the next next year. But, of course, it all, um, takes a little bit of money there. Um, [00:01:30] who's working on the quilt? Who actually puts it right. The quilts are made. They're put together by loved ones. Family and friends all get together and they make a quilt. Um, not everyone, of course, makes a quilt for someone for various reasons in their life. But, um, the quilts are created out of love, and it's a way of expressing their grief or their anger at losing a loved one. And then when they feel the time is right, they actually give [00:02:00] the quilt to the quilt project, and we become the custodians of the quilt. And, um, it just puts this human face on the AIDS virus. It's also parallels in other countries. They're also putting together quilts. Are they? Yes, they are in the United States. Last year, they, um they had, um a big, um, stage of quilts, um, put on in Washington last October and they had 16 acres. Um, set aside to display the quilt, [00:02:30] um, from 27 countries around the world. So, um, we, uh, are not isolated in the virus. So the courts project was started to put a human face to the AIDS virus and very good educate some interesting research lately finding prostitutes in Nairobi, about 29 of them. Very encouraging. Very encouraging indeed. And also being able to find a little bit about how the virus replicates and how the virus invades [00:03:00] healthy cells in the immune system. So those are two promising lines of research, so hopefully they're on to something there. We have a fund raising, um, silent auction and Cabaret, which goes on sat this coming Saturday in the Mandalay new market. Um, so we hope that people will come along and, um, enjoy the night. We have Jeannette McDonald and Gary McCormick. Um, they're going to [00:03:30] be there and keep the evening buzzing along. We have the whole cast of Shortland Street. They're doing a sketch called, um, that's based on all the lost bits that they haven't done in Shortland Street. So that's going to be, um, really good. Grant Bridge is going to be there. The big band, where and when will that be? Uh, this is this coming Saturday at the Mandala New Market, and it kicks off from 7 30 will go through till [00:04:00] the early hours of the morning, and it's called a auction. And if people are not aware what a silent auction is, they're given a bid card as they come in the door with a number on it. And, um, there are sheets on the tables beside the item that they wish to bid for, and they just write their bid number and how much they want to bid for it. And it's, um, there will be over 200 items on display on the tables, and they just have a good time. The big band plays away and they [00:04:30] go around and the bars open. There'll be food. We very much appreciate Robert Ellis's Tapestry in the Centre, which shows us what men and women can do together when they weave together. It's an old Maori idea, too, to weave, weave, weave, unite tu tu tu tu. So thanks for weaving this discussion with us tonight. Gilbert Smith. Thank you very much. See you Saturday night, seven. Thank you. At the Mandalay.

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AI Text:September 2023
URL:https://www.pridenz.com/ait_aids_memorial_quilt_gilbert_smith.html