Annual Membership Meeting
Our annual Membership Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 6, at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church (1313 Esplanade Ave.) at 7:00pm. The agenda includes a brief business meeting, remarks by Executive Director Frank Perez on the accomplishments of the Archives Project over the last year, the presentation of the annual Stewart Butler / Alfred Doolittle Award, and the launch of our 2024 programming focus—the New Orleans AIDS Memory Project. Complimentary food and wine will be provided. Please join us as we get our history out of the closet!
Rest in Peace, Otis Fennell
We’re very sad to report Otis Fennell passed away Thursday, March 14. Otis owned the bookstore on Frenchmen Street from 2003—2018. He had a part in founding the NO/AIDS Task Force and served on its board. He, along with Stewart Butler and Mark Gonzalez, founded the Legacy Project in 2011, which was short-lived but was reincarnated as the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana. A Celebration of Life is planned for April 20 at the bookstore to be followed by a second line to The Faeries Playhouse where his ashes will be interred in the Memorial Garden. Time yet to be determined.
The Archives Project participated in the New Orleans Public Library’s inaugural Gen Fest. The event brought together southeastern Louisiana genealogical, preservation, historical, and cultural organizations to share their mission and story with festival attendees and each other. The event featured tables from over 30 Southeastern Louisiana genealogical, preservation, historical, and cultural organizations and a panel discussion by a diverse group of local researchers and record keepers. Gen Fest was well attended and exposed the Archives Project to a wide-ranging audience.
Did you know much of our work at the Archives Project is funded by recurring monthly donations? By giving as little as ten dollars a month (or a one-time gift of $120), you could become a Sustaining Member. Sustaining Members enjoy perks such as free admission to events like annual queer walking tours and catered social gatherings, as well as our annual Oracle Happening (which will be returning this year). Giving is easy to do here. All gifts are tax deductible. Please consider helping us get our history out of the closet.