Queer Legacies Project: Elder Digital Archiving Workshops

Queer Legacies Project (QLP) is an in-person workshop series developed by the in partnership with , digital archiving project, and , a service and advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ elders with centers in the Bronx, Harlem, Chelsea, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. QLP aims to illuminate the personal histories and ephemera of NYC’s LGBTQ+ elders through facilitated archiving workshops. The project will convene LGBTQ+ elders to emphasize the importance of their personal archives and stories within the greater narrative arc of LGBTQ+ history in the U.S. These workshops will help participants preserve their personal archives for future generations by cataloging the stories and ephemera that reflect the valuable histories of their lives.

! Membership is highly encouraged for all archiving workshop participants. We will have staff on hand to help you sign up on-site if preferred.

Ephemera courtesy of Cassandra Grant, Lisa Cannistraci, and Wanda Acosta. The Addresses Project is New York City-based archive of lesbian and queer space and memory, created by Gwen Shockey in collaboration with Riya Lerner.

Stephanie Alvarado (they/she) is a queer disabled antidisciplinary archivist, artist, poet, and creator of Fotos y Recuerdos, a community photo archive workshop and collective memory experience hosted on public parkland and virtual spaces founded in The Bronx, NY. Alvarado currently serves on the board of The Literary Freedom Project, is a co-curator and archivist for The Kathleen Cleaver Family Archive and leads the Disability Artistry Initiative at BRIC Arts Media Center.

Jessica C. Neal (Jes--they/them) is a millennial archivist, curator, and oral historian from Mobile, AL, whose work centers on preserving and documenting Black and brown histories through Vanguard Archives Consulting. Passionate about documenting Black life and culture, especially in the arts, literature, LGBTQ+ communities, the U.S. South, and social movements, Jes contributes to various archives and arts initiatives, spanning from community archives to institutional collections. Committed to equity and collaboration, they advocate for post-custodial models to ensure marginalized voices are historically represented. Recognizing the power of archives and storytelling for self-documentation, intergenerational communication, and legacy-making, Jes’ work currently focuses on the development and sustainability of community, personal, family, and organizational archives.

Christopher Stahling. I am a witness. Harlem, native, visual artist, life coach, chef, and a passionate advocate for all things Black and queer. Christopher comes from a legacy of community workers who fiercely protect, share, and illuminate Black life. Christopher is a graduate of City College, CUNY, with a degree in Psychology and minor in Studio Art. With his extensive background as an employee and volunteer of the Schomburg Center, Christopher has honed his skills and continues to do archiving work with his oral history archive project; Everybody Needs A Witness: In The Life Archive 2.0. As a mental health professional, Christopher empowers people to consistently ask probing questions about how and why, in order to gain deeper insight. Christopher is committed to contributing to the legacy of archiving Black LGBTQ folks because he believes that there must be evidence of how we lived, loved, and found joy so that our stories won't be reduced to a footnote. If in this life, we don’t bear witness to each other’s light, then who will Everybodyneedsawitness.com

Allison Elliott is an archivist and queer historian with a deep commitment to exploring the archive as a dynamic source of creative material and a platform for information activism. She currently serves as the Archives and Programs Manager at The Feminist Institute, where she oversees content partnerships, curates digital collections, and spearheads TFI’s annual Pop-Up Memory Lab.To date, the Memory Lab has digitized over 2,500 materials, supporting nearly 75 feminist artists, activists, and media-makers. Within this initiative, Allison has organized four workshops on topics ranging from personal digital archiving and tape digitization to the ethics of digitization and building feminist legacies. The 2024 Memory Lab introduced a new Creative Archival Works Showcase, featuring four short films that incorporated archival materials into their narratives. In addition, Allison has contributed to the re-presentation of The Dyke Show with Joan E. Biren, conducting essential release work.Allison’s research interests span feminist and queer information networks and activism, feminist citationality, HIV/AIDS activism, and community archives. She holds an MA in Media Studies and Social Justice from CUNY Queens College, where her work focused on information activism, counter-archives, and queer and trans histories in the 20th and 21st centuries. She also earned a Certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy from the CUNY Graduate Center, enabling her to develop digital archival education initiatives. In 2018, she received a BA in Gender Studies from Mount Holyoke College, which has continued to inspire and ground her work in feminist and queer history and archival practices.

• Wheelchair accessible from street via an elevator
• Wheelchair accessible bathrooms

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. Please reach out with any questions, requests or needs to [email protected]. For more information about Edie Windsor SAGE Center, please email [email protected] or call 646-576-8669.

Host or Publisher The American LGBTQ+ Museum