The other thing that has struck me about the Quilt is that it is a great way to begin to forge a network of friends and colleagues committed to sharing stories and information. HIV concerns and impacts us all, and it will take all of us to eradicate it from our lives.

Below are three of our latest contributions to the Quilt. I hope each of you will spread the word and consider making a contribution of your own. It’s free!

This room was created in memory of Jerry – whose hobby was rowing – by his friend Bradford McIntryre of Positively Positive fame: http://www.positivelypositive.ca/ Visit this room to get a real sense of being on the water with those who love to row. To get there, use: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/88/168/26

This Quilt room was created for K. Alton, whose daughter Valley Luv describes him as, “One of a kind. So charming and full of life. He had a beautiful voice and loved to entertain. He was so smart and talented. He taught himself to paint.” Stop by and see this remarkable memorial with its photos of Elvis and wooden floor with stars. SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/56/72/26

This is a contribution in honor of Sandra made by her sister Carrie. The setting is a garden where Sandra used to like to imagine that magical creatures lived. When you visit, see if you can find some! Here is the link: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/56/200/26

[TORONTO] – November 29, 2010 – The 3D AIDS Quilt, set to debut in two virtual worlds and across the web on Worlds AIDS Day, (December 1, 2010) – is attracting a wide range of high profile contributors as the date approaches. “Interest has been high on a number of fronts,” says Jena Ball, the creator of the Quilt and Co-founder of Startled Cat, the organization behind the project. “We have everyone from individuals to large institutions asking to participate. We’re proud to have organizations like RTI International (RTI), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), and the Triangle Global Health Consortium involved.”

The 3D AIDS Quilt takes the concept of a patchwork quilt – composed of squares of fabric – and transforms it into a collection of 3D rooms or dioramas. Each room is dedicated to a person(s) whose life was lost to AIDS and tells a story using a variety of tools including 3D objects, video, photos, poetry and song. The Quilt was conceived as a way to commemorate the lives of those lost to AIDS and build a global community of individuals and organizations committed to using their collective creativity and resources to eradicate AIDS.

“One of the marvelous things about the Quilt is that it reaches out in an entirely new way to educate and empower people around the globe,” says Nicole Fouche, Executive Director of the Triangle Global Health Consortium. “Information about HIV/AIDS is one of the best ways to protect people and communities from this terrible disease.”

The 3D AIDS Quilt will live in the virtual worlds of Second Life (SL) for adults and on JokaydiaGrid – a world devoted to education – for children. The goal is to create a dynamic, empowered community for all ages that has the tools and resources to connect, collaborate and share their stories. “Stories create empathy and understanding, which in turn alleviate fears and debunk stereotypes,” says Jo Kay Wollongong, the founder of JokaydiaGrid and Coordinator of the children’s portion of the Quilt. “The 3D Quilt is an ideal narrative tool – allowing people from around the world to connect and create 24/7. It is always available and can grow to any size.”

The 3D Quilt will launch with a brief one-hour ceremony at Noon Pacific Standard Time on December 1, 2010 (World AIDS Day) in Second Life and on the web via Online Events.co.uk and additionally at www.3DAIDSQuilt.com.

The agenda for the event will include a brief welcome and discussion of the project, readings by Quilt contributors and live music. Participants will be free to tour the completed Quilt pieces and sign up to create their own memorials.

For more information about the Quilt and the World AIDS Day festivities, please go to: www.3DAIDSQuilt.com and visit the World AIDS Day Event page. If you or your organization would like to contribute a room to the Quilt, please fill out the sign up form on the site or contact Jena Ball or Marty Keltz directly.

Jena Ball: Jenaia.morane@gmail.com
Phone: 919-535-8472

Marty Keltz: Marty@startledcat.com
Phone: 416-587-3381

To view the Quilt, please launch the Second Life browser and use the following SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/52/160/26

Kenny for me was salvation….my first real friend. Basketball player, junior high school
class vice president, handsome, popular…a magnet for girls and the coolest kids in
school. I snuck in the back door and looked in awe at these guys who could doing
everything, sports, brilliant SAT scores and girls.

His younger brother Steven was in the background, sometimes to be teased and even
bullied. Not nice. Steven became a junkie, cocaine, heroine…first snorting, then skin
popping and eventually the needle.

Steven’s story was that he watched us do what we did and wanted to do something
different. Define himself, take a different path…not necessarily to be bad just to be into
different stuff, a different lifestyle. To be his own person, unlike his brother and his
friends.

Steven’s use of indiscriminate needles that he was still using in the 1980’s led to AID’s,
which inevitably led to his death in the late 1990’s just a few years after his brother
died of a massive heart attack at 50. I miss Kenny deeply but for Steven, I feel guilt and
shame. Who gets to be in who gets to be out… which group, which click, whose cool.
I am sorry Steven.
– Marty Snowpaw

I was reminded of this process the other day as I was showing avatars around the 3D AIDS Quilt. Most were simply curious and eager to explore the rooms. A few said they would think about participating, but one woman hung around after the others had left. She introduced herself as Darlene and asked if I thought it would be hard to create a quilt piece.  “It’s not hard at all, as long as you have a good idea of what you’d like,” I said.

“That’s the problem,” she replied, typing slowly and methodically into text.  “I don’t know where to start.  There were so many wonderful things about him.”

For a moment we were both silent.  It hadn’t occurred to me that some folks might need help imagining their rooms.  “Why don’t I ask you some questions,” I suggested, “and we can figure it out together.”

“That would be perfect.”

It turned out that Darlene’s brother Bobby was a bit of a daredevil.  The second child of four, he was forever having to be rushed off to the hospital for stitches.  “He fell out of trees, off the roof, and down the stairs” Darlene laughed.  “It’s not that he was clumsy, it’s just that he didn’t seem to understand his physical limits.”

When Bobby contracted HIV Darlene was sad but not surprised.  “He fell in love the same way he did everything else.  He never went half way.”

In the end, the central image that Darlene chose to use in her memorial to Bobby was a bi-plane.  Bobby learned to fly just before getting the news that he was HIV positive and continued to take to the skies until he became too sick to be safe. “I think he felt like he could escape the world for a few hours when he flew,” she said. “That’s how I’d like people to remember him – flying free.”

Shortly after we got the rough draft of Bobby’s memorial set up, Darlene had to leave.  She promised to come back to add the finishing touches – a photo of Bobby, a short description of his life or the lyrics of a song he loved – but I haven’t seen her since.

In the end, I decided it doesn’t really matter if she returns.  Bobby and his little plane are already permanent fixtures in the Quilt and I will add his name to the plaque if she doesn’t return. The wonderful thing is that thanks to the time we spent building his memorial other people will be able to see and appreciate his lively spirit. Thank you Darlene, for sharing Bobby with us.

If you would like to commemorate someone you lost to AIDS, or pay tribute to a well-known AIDS activist who lost his or her fight such as Ryan White, Arthur Ashe, Alison Gertz, or Rock Hudson, here are some guidelines.

3D AIDS Quilt Guidelines and Questions
Think of the space you will be given as the opening scene in a movie.  If you were trying to start your movie by introducing the person you are commemorating, what would visitors need to see?  Can you fill in the details?

Remember that the walls of the 16 x 16 room you will be given can be made look like almost anything – wallpaper, the sky, windows, a forest – just about any setting you can imagine can be created.

Try to choose elements to put in your room that not only capture the person’s personality but allow visitors to interact with the scene in some way.  Can they touch an object and receive a notecard, sit and  watch a video or listen to a poem?

If you would like help crafting your memorial, please contact Jena Ball (Jenaia Morane) at jenaia.morane@gmail.com or Janyth Ussery (Saxet Uralia) at saxeturalia@yahoo.com.

If you would like to visit the 3D AIDS Quilt and Bobby’s room in it, please log into the Second Life viewer and use the following SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/189/61/26

[TORONTO] – November 12, 2010 – Debuting on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2010 in Second Life (SL), the 3D AIDS Quilt allows participants to celebrate the lives of those that have been lost to AIDS as immersive, interactive 3D dioramas.

“Picture a brightly colored, patchwork quilt composed of dozens of lovingly crafted rooms,” says Jena Ball (Jenaia Morane), founding partner in Startled Cat, the creators of the project. “In one is a desk with half-finished homework and a TV playing the owner’s favorite music videos. In another is a bi -plane flying over farm fields. Visitors can walk into each of these scenes and immerse themselves in the life of the person it commemorates.”

In addition to individual rooms, the Quilt includes an interactive learning center housed in a giant tree inspired by a Japanese bonsai. There, visitors can learn about HIV/AIDS and embark on the Uncle D Story Quest, experiencing the life of an educator and poet who lived with HIV.

“Virtual reality allows for a sense of presence and engagement,” says Marty Keltz (Marty Snowpaw) another of the Startled Cat founders. “Our goal here is to use the unique affordances of virtual worlds to educate and create empathy. HIV/AIDS touches all our lives and it will take all of us to end it.”

The first version of the Quilt is being built and hosted in the virtual world of Second Life (SL), but ground has already been broken for a children’s version of the Quilt on Jokaydia Grid, a virtual world specializing in education. “Children are especially at risk for HIV infection,” says Joanna Kay (Jokay Wollongong), the creator of Jokaydia Grid, “We want to give kids the information and tools they need to protect their health.”

Individuals who would like to create their own special rooms will be joining well-known leaders and organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The creators of the Quilt have also reserved some rooms to commemorate such well-known AIDS victims as Isacc Assimov, Ryan White, and Alison Gertz. Quilt creators who are unfamiliar with virtual space will be assisted by a team of volunteers. They will also be shown how to access a variety of transmedia tools – web sites, blogs, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, etc. – designed to allow them to share and collaborate with others around the world.

To view the Quilt, please launch the Second Life browser and use the following SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/52/160/26

For information about how you and/or your organization can contribute to the Quilt, please contact:

Jena Ball (Jenaia Morane in SL) or Marty Keltz (Marty Snowpaw):

• Jena Ball: Jenaia.morane@gmail.com
• Marty Keltz: Marty@startledcat.com

Further information will be made available here shortly!