Archiving Ourselves

Join LGBTQIA+ community historian, curator and archivist, Jaime Starr, in a free workshop exploring queer archives.

📅 26 February '26

⏰ 18:00pm - 19:30pm

📍the Whitworth

🎟️ Book your free tickets now

When we hear the word archive, many of us imagine vast stores of official government documents, hidden away from public view in formal buildings, only accessible to researchers. But archives can be so much more. From artworks created with personal items to memory boxes of photographs, concert tickets and diaries, to community collections of protest material, the queer idea of an archive expands in many directions.

Drawing on the artist Yuki Kihara’s distinctive use of personal and community archives in her current exhibition at the Whitworth Darwin in Paradise Camp, LGBTQIA+ community historian, curator and archivist, Jaime Starr, will lead participants of this workshop to grow our collective idea of what a queer archive can be, who can make them and how they can be used to highlight the every-day trans and queer present and past.

Participants will learn about trans and queer archival practices including those of Yuki Kihara, Derek Jarman, the UK AIDS Quilt and the Museum of Transology, find out what happens to an archival collection when it enters a museum, and are invited to bring along a small selection (1-5 items) of their own personal archives to curate and share with other participants during the session.

Suggestions of what to bring:

- Diaries

- Photographs

- Magazines or newsletters from groups you have belonged to

- Leaflets or tickets from concerts

- Small pieces of art you’ve made or been gifted

- Items from a hobby or sport that is important to you

The organisers are aware that some people may not have access to materials like this from their lives, and are still welcome to attend. Please note – everything you bring must be taken home again.

Disabled accessibility notes:

As a multi disabled person, Jaime is committed to facilitating workshops with equitable access for disabled participants.
Neurodivergence: This workshop is neurodivergent led and neurodivergent participants are welcome to show up as their whole, unmasked selves. Stim toys will be available.
Mobility: The museum has level access throughout. Activities are suitable for mobility impaired people.
Support needs: People who require a support worker/PA/carer to attend can participate on an equitable basis.
Visual impairment/Blind inclusion: Session presentation materials can be made accessible for visually impaired people on request either through large print copies or a digital link for adapting to your own specific font size needs during the session.
D/deaf access: Auto-captions can run during the presentation, please do let us know if this is something you need.

Please contact: dominic.bilton@manchester.ac.uk for any other access queries.

Key take-aways:

- Learn about queer and trans archival practices past and present.

- Find out about local and national LGBTQIA+ archives you can access.

- Share your own archival collections and discover those of other LGBTQIA+ people.

Bio:

Jaime Starr is a mixed heritage trans, queer and disabled museum curator, LGBTQIA+ community oral historian and archivist. They are a Northern Bridge PhD researcher at Newcastle University and Tyne & Wear Archive on the Mapping the LGBTQIA+ Archives of the North East project. Jaime has worked with museums, galleries and archives across the UK to unearth, curate and highlight their LGBTQIA+, D/deaf and disabled collections, including People’s History Museum, National Football Museum, Queer Britain, and Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. They are a co-author of Twenty-Eight: Stories from the Section 28 Generation (Reconnecting Rainbows Press, 2024) and Queer Bodies: A Queer Icons Anthology (Broken Sleep Books, 2022).

(Image: Michael Pollard, Darwin in Paradise Camp installation shot)