Alistair Hardaker
Image: Queer in Brighton Lesbian Archive Reboot event (Rosie Powell)
Queer Heritage South receives major funding to create digital archive and appoint city’s first dedicated LGBTQ+ Community Archivist ahead of 2027 anniversary.
Queer Heritage South has secured £1.25m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their ‘Queer Heritage South: Live Archive’ project.
The community archiving project is set to celebrate and promote the culture of LGBTQ+ people across the south of England. It is hoped to create a “truly inclusive archive”, said the Heritage Fund, spanning from post- Second World War to the present day.
The funding follows a successful pilot year and will enable the creation of a digital archive and the appointment of Brighton & Hove’s first full-time community archivist dedicated to preserving LGBT+ cultural heritage.
The digital archive will feature stories and objects from under-served communities, focusing on LGBTQ+ experiences and identities.
The project will culminate in 2027 with citywide events marking the 60th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK. The city is home to an older population with lived experience before and after the 1967 partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, said the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The initiative brings together institutions including Brighton & Hove Museums, University of Sussex, The Keep, Sussex Digital Humanities Lab, Screen Archive South East at University of Brighton, and Brighton & Hove Libraries.
David Sheppeard, project director at Queer Heritage South, said the funding will for the project to “co-produce an accessible digital platform with communities to share our stories at a time when we need inspiration and creativity to address the issues we face.”
“At a time when LGBTQIA+ stories are being forcibly erased from collections, websites, libraries and public life worldwide, preserving Brighton & Hove’s LGBTQIA+ history is crucial.
“We are delighted that Queer Heritage South is taking a significant step forward with the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund.”
Dr Sharon Webb, Director of Sussex Digital Humanities Lab at University of Sussex, said: “Working with Queer Heritage South over the past few years has really shown us how powerful it is to take a collaborative, community-focused approach to heritage work.
“When queer heritage is collected and protected in a participatory way, it becomes a grassroots effort that truly empowers the people whose stories are being shared, and preserved. SHL Digital is excited to continue this journey and to support this much needed project.”
Queer Heritage South operates as part of Brighton-based LGBTQIA+ cultural producers Marlborough Productions, founded in 2010 and supported by Arts Council England.
