Birmingham AIDS and HIV memorial plans unveiled ahead of Birmingham Pride

As Birmingham gets ready to celebrate its biggest Pride celebrations to date, plans have been unveiled for an AIDS and HIV memorial to be erected in Southside.

Officially titled the Birmingham Aids & HIV Memorial (BAHM) the six-metre-high sculpture featuring two heart-shaped ribbons entwined will recognise those lost and still living following the 1980s AIDS epidemic.

It will be placed in Hippodrome Square, currently under construction, in the Southside District, renowned for its support and celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community and already has some nigh profile backers.

Birmingham artist Garry Jones joined forces with businessmen Andrew King and Phil Oldershaw to initiate plans for the memorial after being inspired by Channel 4’s hit TV series It’s a Sin.

6 things about the Birmingham Aids and HIV Memorial plans

• Garry, Andrew and Phil are leading a fundraising programme, profile-raising and education around the memorial which they hope to construct by June 2022 - in time for the Commonwealth Games
• The trio are working on the design with local sculptor Luke Perry, who is known for his monumental sculptures of underrepresented people.
• The six metre high monument will serve as a reminder of the work that still needs to be done to educate; helping end both stigma and discrimination
• Plans for the memorial have already won the backing of Birmingham City Council Leader, Cllr Ian Ward and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street who is an Ambassador to BAHM and Lawrence Barton, Chair of Southside BID and Festival Director of Birmingham Pride.
• Other BAHM Ambassadors include Dr Naomi Sutton, a sexual health consultant who’s featured on E4’s ‘The Sex Clinic’ and Lord Michael Cashman MBE, an actor who in 1987 featured in the first gay kiss on British TV on EastEnders in 1987 and Founder of Stonewall.
• The BAHM have already raised in excess of £15,000, of their £160,000 target to make the project happen, and Birmingham Pride weekend marks the launch of their official campaign for the city to get behind them. To find out more and support the Birmingham AIDS & HIV Memorial project, visit www.bahm.co.uk or you can donate online.

What does the Aids and HIV sculpture symbolise?

Garry said: “The heart-shaped red ribbons represent two figures entwined, as if embracing and supporting each other. They represent the dual entities of HIV and AIDS: the past and the future. “They symbolise remembrance of those we have lost to AIDS, whilst also celebrating those able to live with HIV today”.

Why are Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and Southside BID supporting the AIDS and HIV Memorial plans?

Councillor Ian Ward said: "HIV and AIDS have affected so many people in Birmingham over the last 40 years and far too many families have lost loved ones. Those forgotten victims should be remembered, and I support the campaign for a permanent memorial."

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and Ambassador to BAHM, said: “It is wonderful to see this permanent memorial being proposed, and I wish the team the very best in bringing these ambitious plans to life.”

Lawrence Barton, Chair of Southside BID and Festival Director of Birmingham Pride, adds: “We are thrilled to have been instrumental in finding the right site for this memorial, to commemorate many of the forgotten victims of a pandemic the world did not want to recognise. Southside, as a heart for minority communities in Birmingham, such as the LGBTQ community, is the perfect place for a focal point like this: somewhere our community can gather and remember those we lost.”

To find out more and support the Birmingham AIDS & HIV Memorial project, visit www.bahm.co.uk or you can donate online.