Celebrating 50 Years at The ArQuives!

Join us all year long as we celebrate the milestones of The ArQuives over the last 50 years. Help keep LGBTQ2+ stories alive!

Celebrating 50 Years at The ArQuives!

Join us all year long as we celebrate the milestones of The ArQuives over the last 50 years. Help keep LGBTQ2+ stories alive!

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The ArQuives celebrates our 50th Anniversary all year long!

Throughout the years, The ArQuives has preserved the stories, papers, books, artifacts, and more of the LGBTQ2+ community. Safeguarding the powerful experiences of community members that have impacted the lives of LGBTQ2+ folks across Canada, we are honoured to spend 2023 recognizing our 50th Anniversary. Together, we are Keeping Our Stories Alive.

All year long, we will be hosting events, sharing digital content, and connecting with community. Join us as we take you on a journey through the last 50 years of The ArQuives!

Interested in sharing how The ArQuives has supported you?

Community Story: Dr. Alex Ketchum

As a lecturer and writer, Dr. Alex Ketchum is no stranger to digging through archives for reference materials to support her work.

Dr. Ketchum has worked with the ArQuives on some of her projects, including her second book Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses, published in 2022. The book takes an in-depth look at over 200 feminist eateries from the 1970s to today, examining how these institutions were crucial locations for social justice movements and empowerment.

In December of 2022, Dr. Ketchum gave an important talk on this book in partnership with the ArQuives, and would soon work with archival staff for her third book. This new work will look at queer digital spaces and cyberfeminism, and the ArQuives has been a place for Dr. Ketchum to find reference materials and other information for the project.

In celebration of the ArQuives’ 50th anniversary, Dr. Ketchum cites the importance of preserving the experiences and stories of individuals in the LGBTQ2+ community: “It’s our history!”
Written by The ArQuives volunteer Michael Ott
Two photos of a smiling Alan Miller, ArQuives Volunteer. he's a young man in the first photo and middle-aged in the second.

Volunteer Story: Alan Miller

When I first began working as an archival volunteer with The ArQuives over 40 years ago, I had no idea I would become so passionate about recording history…

I also had no idea then that I would be helping to process LGBTQ2+ materials and stories to this day!

Over the years, I’ve seen The ArQuives overcome many challenges, evolve, and grow. It’s been incredibly rewarding to be part of such an important community-building project of keeping our stories alive.

There’s so much more work to do as we collect, preserve, and share stories from LGBTQ2+ people whose voices have been under-represented:

I’m hoping you’ll join me for 50 Years of Keeping Our Stories Alive.

– Alan Miller, ArQuives Volunteer

Two group photos including a smiling Courtnay McFarlane. In the first they're young adults and the second they're older

Volunteer Story: Courtnay McFarlane

I first got involved with The ArQuives in 2017 when I was approached to do an archiving project from my experiences as a multi-disciplinary artist and activist working to build Black queer community in Toronto…

Legacies in Motion shared stories of activism from Black LGBTQ communities of Toronto throughout the ’80s and ’90s. I collaborated with friends and colleagues and partnered with The ArQuives to gather and share stories across generations that could help connect the dots between activism then and now.

One thing I can say for sure is that there are so many great LGBTQ2+ stories yet to be told and shared.

One story that everyone should know is that much of the Black queer activism and community that’s been built over the years can be traced back to 101 Dewson House. This collective-run household in Dufferin Grove started by Makeda Silvera and her partner in the 1980s was a thriving hub of Black gay and lesbian activism in Toronto, and out of this hub came Sister Vision Press – the first and only Black women of colour press in Toronto –  and Zami, the first visible black queer organization in the city… and many, many others.

Storytelling is important in part because we find ourselves on certain paths, yet don’t necessarily know how those paths were made. That’s why I want people to know the origins of Blockorama and Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (BlackCAP), because I want younger activists to know that the work they’re doing now is connected to what came before.

– Courtnay McFarlane

Get featured in the ArQuives 50th anniversary collection

As we continue to celebrate our 50th Anniversary all year long, The ArQuives is putting together a collection of stories that we want to go down in history for another 50 years. We need your help. By submitting your story, you are supporting the ongoing efforts to keep LGBTQ2+ stories alive.

How to submit your story:

  • 1

    Submit your written story by clicking the following button. Keep LGBTQ2+ stories alive.

  • 2

    In max 60 seconds, film a vertically formatted video following this prompt:
    Share a piece of LGBTQ2+ history you want to be remembered for.

Get featured in the ArQuives 50th anniversary collection

As we continue to celebrate our 50th Anniversary all year long, The ArQuives is putting together a collection of stories that we want to go down in history for another 50 years. We need your help. By submitting your story, you are supporting the ongoing efforts to keep LGBTQ2+ stories alive.

How to submit your story:

  • 1

    Submit your written story by clicking the following button. Keep LGBTQ2+ stories alive.

  • 2
    In max 60 seconds, film a vertically formatted video following this prompt:
    Share a piece of LGBTQ2+ history you want to be remembered for.

How to get involved

Community Organization

Let’s work together to bring our organizations together to support LGTBQ2+ stories for 50 more years.

Community Business

Give your business the space to support an important cause and make a difference in your community.

ArQuive Supporter

Every story matters. Connect with The Arquives to find out how you can connect with your personal network to keep LGBTQ2+ stories alive.

Events

Exhibition pack un pack

March 18, 2023 @ 8:00 am - March 29, 2023 @ 4:00 pm

The ArQuives is hosting the reopening of the solo exhibition of artist and photographer Hamidah Hemani.  The show titled pack un pack will feature a series of large and small format photography, which provocatively explores the definitions and constructs of “home, space and subculture” through a queer south Asian lens. pack un pack runs from March 18 to 29th, at 34 [...]

Queer Trivia: The Gay ’90s From Red Ribbons to Priscilla

March 23, 2023 @ 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm

We're back with another evening of virtual queer trivia! Whether you had all the Indigo Girls CDs or love all things retro, join us for trivia on Thursday, March 23rd at 8:00 pm and test your knowledge of the queer '90s – from AIDS activism to out Oscar nominees! Our online trivia events are just for fun – we don’t [...]

A Roundtable on Trans Histories + Activism in Toronto

April 19, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Myseum of Toronto and The ArQuives invite you to join us for a roundtable discussion about trans activism in Toronto between the 1960s and 1990s. Speakers Monica Forrester, Mirha-Soleil Ross, and Rupert Raj will reflect on some of their foundational actions that helped create sustainability, kinship, and activist culture for the rights of trans people. This intergenerational roundtable will explore [...]

ActiVisions: Trans Histories and Activism, 1950s-1990s

April 22, 2023 @ 10:00 am - May 19, 2023 @ 5:00 pm

In this one-of-a-kind exhibition, The ArQuives opens its doors for the public to experience their Trans Collections. Curated by Tobaron Waxman, this exhibition explores a selection of trans histories of resilience in Toronto from the 1950s to the 1990s. Curator Tobaron Waxman offers a unique lens into Toronto’s trans community histories, focusing on the fight for access to trans-aware health [...]