Queer Heritage South is awarded £1.25m from the The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a pioneering LGBTQIA+ heritage project across Brighton & Hove. This is a landmark investment in preserving queer stories!

This week brings incredibly exciting news for Brighton & Hove's vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and beyond! Queer Heritage South has just been awarded a monumental £1.25 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This isn't just a grant; it's a powerful statement, marking one of the largest single investments in LGBTQIA+ heritage by the Heritage Fund. It highlights a growing recognition across the UK of the critical importance of shaping and preserving queer history.

The 'Queer Heritage South: Live Archive' project, set to culminate in 2027 – the 60th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK – is truly pioneering. Building on a decade of impactful work, including the popular LGBTQIA+ History Clubs, this funding will allow Queer Heritage South to take its vital mission to the next level

In the next three years ‘Queer Heritage South: Live Archive’ will work towards creating a new and inclusive digital archive, future-proofing LGBTQIA+ collecting in Brighton & Hove, animating the archive through an array of our iconic cultural events, and delivering a major exhibition in 2027. This isn't just about collecting; it's about future-proofing these invaluable stories, ensuring they're accessible and celebrated for generations to come.

David Sheppeard and Roni Guetta at the Regency Town House - photograph by Diana Thompson

Thanks to the project, there will be a  full-time Community Archivist for the first time in the city’s history, focused on the preservation of Brighton & Hove’s unique LGBTQIA+ heritage across the project and the city’s heritage institutions and archives. 

The 2021 census confirmed that Brighton & Hove has the highest density of LGBTQIA+ people outside of London. The city is also home to an older generation whose lived experiences span the significant period before and after the 1967 decriminalisation. It’s vital that their memories are recorded and preserved to be learned from in the future.

As David Sheppeard, Project Director for Queer Heritage South, powerfully articulates, "At a time when LGBTQIA+ stories are being forcibly erased from collections, websites, libraries, and public life worldwide, preserving Brighton & Hove's LGBTQIA+ history is crucial. We are delighted that Queer Heritage South is taking a significant step forward with the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This funding will allow us to co-produce an accessible digital platform with communities to share our stories at a time when we need inspiration and creativity to address the issues we face.

The next phase of our public programs will kick off with The Coast is Queer Festival of LGBTQIA+ literature at the University of Sussex, delivered in partnership with New Writing South, from October 9th - 12th. These events perfectly embody our project's goals: creating a space for community, learning, reflection, and finding ways to move forward together. We invite everyone to join us."

Mapping Spaces and Queer Memories - photograph by Rosie Powell

Stuart McLeod, Director of England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We’re incredibly proud to support Queer Heritage South with this project thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. It is a powerful example of how heritage can be inclusive, dynamic and led by the community it represents. Brighton & Hove has a rich LGBTQIA+ history and this funding will help ensure these stories are preserved, celebrated and shared for generations to come. As we approach the 60th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, it’s vital that we reflect on the past while building a more inclusive future.”

This ambitious project, made possible by National Lottery players, as well as the support of numerous partners across the city, aims to create a city-wide and long term strategy for collecting, archiving, and sharing our city’s rich LGBTQIA+ heritage. The project will culminate in 2027 with a citywide series of large-scale events and exhibitions drawing together partners to ensure LGBTQIA+ heritage and the contributions of its communities are firmly embedded at the heart of Brighton & Hove’s social history for years to come.

Heritage walking tour with Alfie Ordinary - photograph by Kaleido Shoots

Queer Heritage South is a cornerstone of the work of Brighton-based LGBTQIA+ cultural producers Marlborough Productions, founded in Brighton & Hove in 2010 and supported by Arts Council England. The support and partnerships the organisation has built over the years, highlights the collective effort dedicated to this groundbreaking project. Queer Heritage South is looking forward to working with partners on the delivery of this project, and would like to thank Brighton & Hove Museums, University of Sussex, Sussex Digital Humanities Lab, The Centre for Sexual Dissidence, The Keep, New Writing South, Screen Archive South East - University of Brighton, and Brighton & Hove Libraries for the strategic input in developing the project.