About Us
Our Vision
To honour and commemorate the memory of those we have lost and the profound impact of HIV & AIDS on the diversity of individuals and British society
Our Mission
To create The AIDS Memorial to be a unifying national focal point to remember the lives of those lost to HIV & AIDS, linking the constellation of local memorials across the UK.
We do this through:
Inclusion
The AIDS Memorial will have meaning and resonate with all those affected by HIV, then, now and in the future
Art
We remember through art as it gives space for each individual to complete their own memories, individually and collectively beautiful
Remembrance
We believe that remembering truths is important for us as individuals and for society
Common humanity
The AIDS Memorial offers fundraising and awareness-raising opportunities for HIV and AIDS causes
Campaigning
We fight on towards ending AIDS by reaching zero new infections. We remain alert to the ongoing stigma of HIV and AIDS and the people and communities now affected
Solidarity
We remember as those affected, in solidarity not sympathy
Our Story
Five years ago, playwright & HIV campaigner Ash Kotak began the work to create a lasting memorial to those who have died of an HIV-related illness and to act as a reminder that the fight to end AIDS, and the stigma of HIV and AIDS, worldwide continues.
The sculpture will be located just off Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia, close to the former Middlesex Hospital. This is where the UK’s first AIDS unit was opened by Princess Diana in April 1987. In front of the world’s media, she shook the hand of a man with AIDS. At a time when people were afraid to touch, she wore no gloves and told the world that HIV/AIDS was not passed from person to person by touch, but that kindness and humanity are.
In the 1980 and 1990s, HIV and AIDS disproportionally affected four marginalised groups in the UK: gay/ bisexual men; African communities; people with haemophilia and people who inject drugs.
Yet it influenced the whole nation, challenging deep rooted prejudices by confronting issues about equality, difference, religion and of our collective identity, which questioned our values as a nation. HIV/AIDS has had a profound impact on society, both as an illness and as a source of discrimination and solidarity.
The AIDS Memory UK Campaign has a wide range of supporters from the arts, politics, business, consulting and management, the charity and voluntary sectors, finance and engineering.
Survivors Voices
Hear the stories from the people that the AIDS pandemic affected the most