Our story

Queer Heritage South is a heritage learning project powered by arts charity Marlborough Productions. The project celebrates and promotes the rich cultural life of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer (LGBTQIA+) community in Brighton and Hove and the south-east of England.

We collect, share and celebrate inclusive LGBTQIA+ histories to ensure our queer heritage is accessible to future generations.

Who we are

We are a growing digital archive project documenting LGBTQIA+ life in the city.

LGBTQIA+ heritage is an important reminder to our communities that we have always been here. It gives us a greater sense of connection to the place we live and links us to a historical family of people like us.

All records within the archive are created and described by contributors so that LGBTQIA+ people's stories are captured in their own words.

By collecting, sharing and celebrating Brighton & Hove's rich LGBTQIA+ heritage, we hope to support other communities across the region to discover theirs.

As part of the project, we will be delivering a community curated exhibition in 2027 across Brighton and Hove.

The Queer Heritage South archive now holds more than 700 records representing diverse LGBTQIA+ histories in our local area, from photographs of club nights and venues, to protest badges, oral histories, video and much more.

Our values

At Marlborough Productions, we are:

  • Queer

    Centering intersectional experiences of identity and how this relates to privilege and/or oppression.

  • Decolonial

    Committed to challenging white supremacy and supporting anti-racist action.

  • Rigorous

    Realising cultural projects to the best of our ability to ensure enriching experiences.

  • Caring

    Working with artists and communities in an accessible way that prioritises people.

  • Responsive

    Welcoming critique and striving to do better.

  • Joyful

    Recognising the importance of joy for all LGBTQIA+ people in a world that often tries to rob us of it.

Our history

Queer Heritage South was a digital community archiving project set up by Marlborough Productions, Photoworks, and New Writing South in 2012 to celebrate and preserve LGBTQIA+ histories in Brighton & Hove and the wider region. In 2016 we began our series of Brighton LGBTQIA+ History Club events in partnership with Brighton & Hove Museums. In 2020 we launched the community co-produced exhibition Queer the Pier in Brighton Museum.

The archive

The Queer Heritage South live archive was established in 2021 in response to the pressing need to document histories which were at risk of being lost. This was particularly important for the stories of older generations, and also records of ephemeral and temporary events, projects and spaces that might not otherwise be captured within traditional archives.

Visit the archive

Be a part of history

We are all a part of this unfolding history – we don’t just want to document our existence, we want to share it far and wide and keep exploring. To uncover memories, capture stories and celebrate Brighton and Hove’s LGBTQIA+ community, we run a range of heritage-focused events throughout the year.

Find out about our events Get involved in volunteering for us

Our key funders

Queer Heritage South is made possible by the organisations funding the work.

Our key partners

We work with archives, museums and universities across the region.

Explore

  • Our team

    Meet the people behind the Queer Heritage South project, based in the heart of the city.

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  • Search the archive

    Looking for something in particular? Or just want to browse? Dive into the archive and be inspired.

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  • Volunteer

    Can you spare a few hours to help support LGBTQIA+ history and community?

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  • Stories

    Writing from the archive and the people around it: reflections, interviews and what our community champions have been up to.

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