2023 Was Very Productive
2023 was a very productive year for the Archives Project. In addition to placing collections in a number of local archival repositories and museums, including the Louisiana State Museum, The Historic New Orleans Collection, and the Amistad Research Center, and the Earl K. Long Library at UNO, we also assisted a dozen scholars and researchers working on queer history projects. We also debuted a new website and are constantly adding new content to it. And the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Up Stairs Lounge was a huge success. Overall, the commemoration event received more than 61 story placements nationwide, reaching an estimated 173 million readers. Many more were reached through television coverage and podcasts.
We are very excited about 2024! The Oracle Event, which we haven’t had since 2019 because of Covid, is making a comeback in the fall and there is also programming in the works regarding Fernando Rios, who was the victim of a terrible gay-bashing murder in the French Quarter in 1958. Our major programming focus for 2024, however, will be the history of HIV / AIDS in New Orleans. The New Orleans AIDS Memory Project will consist of monthly programs from June to December and a major exhibit (co-sponsored by the National Stonewall Museum). Stay tuned for more details.
The Archives Project was recently awarded $5,000 from the New Orleans Culture & Recreation Fund. This grant was created last year by the New Orleans City Council, and this was the inaugural disbursement. Archives Project Executive Director Frank Perez and board members Jarvis Gorden and Robert Ticknor attended the meeting at City Hall in the City Council Chambers where the Council voted to approve the grants. The money will be used to implement our 2024 programming focus, the New Orleans AIDS Memory Project.
As the year closes, we would like to once again thank you for your interest in the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana! We are working hard to get our history out of the closet, and we couldn’t do it without your support.