In November, the exhibit Sewn in Memory: AIDS Quilt Panels from Central Illinois opened at Spurlock Museum, featuring quilt panels honoring the lives of men from the C-U area who died from AIDS-related illness at the height of the AIDS crisis.
On June 11th, at 1:30 p.m., Spurlock will be hosting a special presentation, AIDS in East Central Illinois: The Response and Those Lost.
Speakers including Jerry Carden, co-founder of GCAP; Mike Benner, current Executive Director of GCAP; and Julie Pryde, Public Health Administrator, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. They will share some history from the local LGBTQ+ community, the first local responses to the AIDS pandemic, the mobilization of public health, and the current local challenges with HIV/AIDS. There will also be a screening of some oral histories with people at the front line of the crisis, produced by Illinois Public Media.
The UP Center will livestream this event on Facebook and Youtube.
Top photo: ©Artist unknown. In memory of John Morgan. Property of GCAP, Urbana, IL. Photo by Julie McClure with permission from Spurlock Museum.