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."