Celebrating International Archives Week: Queer History Club visit the Society

To celebrate International Archives Week taking place this week, we will be sharing some updates from our Collections team. Now in its seventh edition, the theme of this year’s International Archives Week is #ArchivesAreAccessible – Archives for Everyone, which goes beyond digitisation to consider how archives are inclusive and representative of all communities, and offer new opportunities for connection and exchange across borders. 

In this update, we’re featuring the first visit to the Society’s Foyle Reading Room by the Queer History Club, an informal, community-centered research group based at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. There, the club have undertaken extensive research on the museum’s collections, leading to published papers, blogs, art projects, and drag performances. 

During their visit to the Society on 29 May, 18 members of the club looked at a range of items  as a preliminary step in exploring the queer histories embedded in our Collections. After learning how to use our online catalogue, club members explained their historical crushes on the various people, expeditions, and ideas represented by the objects on display. 

Dr Katherine Parker, the Society’s Cartographic Collections Manager who coordinated the visit, was impressed by the group’s enthusiasm and expertise: “This was a great opportunity to dive into our own Collections with a new set of readers…we had fun laughing and learning together.”

Individual club members are now continuing their research in the Society’s Collections and we look forward to future collaborations, events, and celebrations.

Look out for another International Archives Week update from our Collections team later in the week.