AIDS Quilt Touch

Digital heritage project to preserve and augment the AIDS Memorial Quilt through different digital media.

Participants can use the AIDS Quilt Touch Table to look for Quilt panels of loved ones by name. They can explore an image of all the blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, zooming in to see just one panel, or out to see all of them. This is the only way to see all the Quilt at the same time since it has grown so much it does not fit in any physical space anymore. The Table also offers stories about some panels, grouped by themes such as “Women and AIDS,” and “Activism.”

I worked as a Assistant Designer for PIs Anne Balsamo and Dale MacDonald from 2014 – 2019 and still collaborate occasionally. I worked on several different parts of the project: from the technical elements of the Quilt database for the searchable Quilt feature, to the experience and interaction design of a touch table iteration. I also curated and designed content for the touch table, as well as contributed to the design of the visitor experience at the headquarters of the NAMES Foundation in Atlanta, GA. Other responsibilities included: the organization of displays and exhibitions, and the production of videos and interviews (this is the most recent one).

You can access a web-based iteration of the AIDS Quilt Touch here.

Selected Exhibition History

2021 – The Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas, TX, USA.
2019 – UT Dallas HIV/AIDS Day, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA.
March 2019 – Dedication ceremony at Nelson Tebedo Clinic, a resource center clinic in Dallas, TX, USA.
2018 – UT Dallas HIV/AIDS Day, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA.
October 2017 – Exhibition “Narrative Threads: The AIDS Memorial Quilt”, at the Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX, USA.
2017 – UT Dallas HIV/AIDS Week, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA.
2016 – UT Dallas HIV/AIDS Week, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA.
2015 – SIGGRAPH, Los Angeles, CA, USA.