Queer Heritage South, a programme of Marlborough Productions, an LGBTQ+ producing cultural organisation, has announced initial support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the development of the project Queer Heritage South: Live Archive. Made possible by National Lottery players, as well as
Queer Heritage South, a programme of Marlborough Productions, an LGBTQ+ producing cultural organisation, has announced initial support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the development of the project Queer Heritage South: Live Archive. Made possible by National Lottery players, as well as the support of many major partners across the city, the project aims to create a city-wide, long-term strategy for the collection, archiving, and sharing of our city’s rich LGBTQ+ heritage.
Roni Guetta (Project Manager) and David Sheppeard (Project Director) of Queer Heritage South commented: “We are so happy to be working on this long term LGBTQ+ heritage project which contains so much meaning for us as individuals and the potential to create so much impact in the city’s communities. We are grateful for the support of all the partners who have come together to support this project and are excited for what comes next”.
Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, in 2027 there will be a major community curated public exhibition with Brighton Museum and in public spaces across Brighton & Hove. The exhibition will foreground the findings of ‘Live Archive’, and will engage with public spaces across the city and the digital sphere, making it accessible for all Brighton LGBTQ+ residents, and beyond.
Queer Heritage South will support LGBTQ+ heritage in the wider region and their close-knit communities, with aims including offering support funding insights for smaller grassroots organisations to access funding; peer mentorship and best practice sharing for groups also working in heritage, and providing a lasting digital resource for communities in the South East.
Despite Brighton & Hove having one of the densest populations of LGBTQ+ people in the UK, the area does not have an active inclusive record of LGBTQ+ people. Live Archive will look to community champions with lived experience of intersectional identities to reflectively and honestly document the stories from their communities; from personal relationships to protests, parties, and performances.
Live Archive will work towards creating a new and inclusive digital archive for the city and future-proofing LGBTQ+ heritage collecting across Brighton & Hove. This wide-reaching archive of LGBTQ+ people and their stories will safeguard knowledge for future generations whilst recognising those, right here, right now, and those no longer with us.
Newly discovered stories and collections, will underpin an annual cultural programme of events and happenings including collaborations with existing events in the city’s LGBTQ+ cultural calendar – Coast is Queer, Brighton & Hove Pride, LGBT History Month and Queer Bloomsbury to reach new audiences; build on Queer Heritage South’s LGBTQIA+ History Club; and produce events including documentary screenings and heritage-focused club nights.
