What the AIDS Memorial Quilt can teach us now In 1985, a gay male by the name of Cleve Jones attended a candlelight memorial for Harvey Milk.
It was there among his people that he dreamed up what would later become the largest piece of community art in all the world: The AIDS Memorial Quilt.
And while he conceived of the idea in 1985, it wasn’t until two years later in 1987 that he acted on his impulse and created the first panel in honor of his friend Marvin Feldman.