Queer Artefacts – LGBTQ+ Stories from the Archives

A collage of LGBTQ+ archival material. Two flyers: one for the Friends of Dorothy Gay Union Week and one for Lesbian and Gay Awareness Week. Three badges. One saying Reyt Queer, one saying Gay Rights at Work and a stewards staff badge for the Checkers Disco.

Join our friends from SAYiT as they delve into archives, documents and objects chronicling local queer experiences over the centuries.

Badges, court records, photos, zines, and a trans man born in Doncaster in the 1700s – we take a trip through the LGBTQ+ archives at Sheffield Museums and Sheffield Libraries and reflect on what they tell us about being LGBTQ+ in the past.

Small things holding great significance – they show us how the LGBTQ+ community was represented, how we challenged authority, changed minds, and fought for our rights.

SAYiT (Sheena Amos Youth Trust) is a registered charity that works with young people aged 11-25 and professionals to make real lives better. The organisation provides practical support to LGBTQ+ young people, hosts a parent and carer group and delivers training that helps organisations improve knowledge and address discrimination.

Image L-R: leaflet produced by the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) Committee of the University of Sheffield, 2000; leaflet, Pink Ink for Lesbian and Gay Awareness Week, 1990; #reytqueer badge 2017/2018; gay rights at work badge; plastic badge for Checkers disco. All © Sheffield Museums.