Would you like to know more about Bristol’s LGBT+ history, or do you have a story that you’d like to share?
An online map and mobile app exploring Bristol’s LGBT+ past was launched at Bristol Pride Saturday 9th July.
The map uses pictures, oral history recordings, archival documents and personal stories to bring hidden histories to light. The team was brought together by local LGBT+ history group OutStories Bristol, working together with the University of Bristol, Bristol City Council and Bristol Record Office, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The app allows users to explore this history on the move and in the very places referred to on the map. The map can be accessed on OutStories Bristol’s own website where visitors can contribute their own stories.
The map also appears on Bristol City Council’s website Know Your Place which brings together multiple layers of Bristol’s diverse history.
See the map: http://www.outstoriesbristol.org.uk/map/
Get the app: search “Mapping LGBT+ Bristol” on Google Play (Android) or the Apple App (iTunes) store.
Joan Weegenaar and the Radnor Hotel, early 1960s. Copyright: Anna Henderson.
Andrew Foyle, co-Chair, OutStories Bristol said:
“We’re really excited about the new map and the possibilities it will bring for engagement within LGBT+ communities and beyond. Bristol has never had the resources for an LGBT+ community project on this scale and we’re really grateful for the fantastic work put in by the University of Bristol and the Arts and Humanities Research Council who funded it all. This is all about reclaiming a sense of our past which, on the local stage, has never been written down before. LGBT+ people have been around throughout history, we didn’t just appear in the 1960s. In the current political and social climate establishing these facts will be hugely significant.”
Dr. Nate Eisenstadt, Co-Investigator, University of Bristol:
“We knew about OutStories from the impressive LGBT history work they’d done as part of their Heritage Lottery funded project and exhibition Revealing Stories at Bristol’s M Shed museum. They knew about us from the community historical mapping we have been doing with Know Your Bristol. When Outstories got in contact and suggested an LGBT+ history mapping project, it seemed like a perfect match. We can’t wait for people to see the results!”
Mark Small, Bristol Record Office:
“We wanted to put Bristol’s LGBT+ history in the mainstream – that’s why putting a layer on the Know Your Place website and depositing the archives that have been collected at Bristol Record Office was so important”.