Â鶹AV

Please join us for the vernissage/ launch party for the exhibit LGBTQIA2S+ Â鶹AV Student, Faculty, and Staff Activism on Wednesday October 26th from 4-6 PM ET. The event will take place on the 4th floor of Â鶹AV's McLennan Library, in the Colgate Room (if you exit the elevators or stairs and turn right, you will open a glass door and turn right to walk down the hall to the archives and special collections. Enter and you will go to the room on your left).

This venue is wheelchair accessible. We ask that you wear a mask when not eating or drinking in order to make the event accessible to more community members.

The event will have free food and drinks. There will be speeches from the curators and representatives from the archives.

____ (about the exhibit)

The exhibit LGBTQIA2S+ Â鶹AV Student, Faculty, and Staff Activism was curated by Dr. Alex Ketchum and Jacob Williams in 2022. From October to December 2022, visitors can view the physical exhibit on the main floor of Â鶹AV’s McLennan Library. The virtual exhibit, available at lgbtqactivismatmcgill.com will be available, at least, until September 1, 2032.*

This exhibit showcases the work of students, faculty, and staff who advocated for increased rights, safety, and places to thrive for LGBTQIA2S+ communities at Â鶹AV. The materials particularly highlight activism from the mid 20th century until 2022. In the physical exhibit, the materials are organized around the themes: 1) Queer Joy, 2) Student, Faculty, and Staff LGBTQIA2S+ Organizations and Clubs, 3) Discrimination and Backlash, 4) Academic Programs, and 5) HIV/AIDS and Health.

During a period in which there has been increased political backlash against LGBTQ+ communities, it is important that we better understand earlier generations’ activism and community building efforts in order to inspire our own work. We hope that visitors to this exhibit leave feeling inspired to build a more equitable world. The section of the exhibit on LGBTQIA2S+ Student, Faculty, Staff Clubs, Groups, and Organizations seeks to provide resources to help individuals connect with current organizing efforts.

The materials from this exhibit come from: the Queer Â鶹AV Archives, Â鶹AV’s Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) Archives, Â鶹AV Rare Books, Archives, and Special Collections (ROAAr), the Archives Gaies du Québec (AGQ), the Archives Lesbiennes du Québec, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), the Internet Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive, the collections of the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies (IGSF), the Black Students’ Network (BSN) of Â鶹AV, and the personal collections of Will Aitkin, Deb VanSlet, and Laure Neuville.