We’re proud to present our ambassadors for ALMS 2019. Members of the International Advisory Board provide important perspectives and expertise to the Organizing Team and Steering Committee in the preparation of the conference. They promote awareness of ALMS in their networks and countries and to the world. Their support is a great honour for us. We are extremely thankful for their guidance and delighted to welcome them at ALMS 2019.
Ajamu is a fine art photographic artist, archive curator and radical sex activist
His work has been shown in galleries, museums and alternative spaces nationally and internationally, and published in a wide variety of publications and critical journals. He is a leading specialist in Black British Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) history and heritage and the co-founder of the award winning rukus! Black LGBTQ Archive: Europe’s first dedicated Black LGBTQ Archive aiming to collect, preserve, exhibit and otherwise make available to the public cultural and artistic materials related to Black LGBTQ lived experiences and communities in contemporary Britain. He studied at the Jan van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht, The Netherlands, and is currently a PhD researcher at Royal College of Art, London.“I am honored to be part of this board, the ALMS conference is an ideal opportunity to share ideas with activists, academics and other members of my international queer archival family who are telling and sharing our complex narratives in new, exciting and innovative ways.”
Photo: Marinus Toorman , 2018
Aylime Aslı Demir, Activist, Editor, Curator, Turkey
“I would gladly like to support this conference, to pursue new encounters en route to new ways of expression for a different activism, as well as to associate the possibility of “archives” and perceptional creation which belongs to artistic expression.”
Hongwei Bao teaches media and cultural studies at the University of Nottingham, UK
He is the author of Queer Comrades: Gay Identity and Tongzhi Activism in Postsocialist China (NIAS Press, 2018). He hopes to see more queer representation from Asia and the Global South at the ALMS.
Levan Berianidze, executive director of “Equality Movement” – a queer feminist organization in Georgia
My academic background comes from gender studies MA program at CEU (Budapest, Hungary). I joined human rights activism in 2010, when I was an intern first at Identoba (local LGBT organization) and then at Women’s Fund in Georgia. I was one of the key organizers of May 17 IDAHOT public rallies in 2012 and 2013 – the first ever public demonstrations held by LGBTQ individuals in Georgia. I was an applicant to the European Court of Human Rights on the 2012 and 2013 IDAHO day violence cases. I have been actively involved in feminist activities, outreach and LGBTQ community building/mobilizing, advocacy and education on the grassroots level. I identify as queer.“I support ALMS as I believe that understanding our history is important for building community and envisioning our future.”
Angela Brinskele is a photographer and the Director of Communications of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives in West Hollywood, California
Her own work has been published nationally and on the web. Angela has been documenting the LGBTQ Community for over three decades. She believes that ALMS is a vital resource for our community.
Maria Mitsopoulou aka Maria F Dolores is a member and co-funder of AMOQA |ATHENS MUSEUM OF QUEER ARTS, a visual artist and performer
“AMOQA is greatly honored to be part of the international network of ALMS2019, for the kinships, for sharing knowledges, inspirations and queer wisdom.”
Dotan Brom is a researcher of Israeli queer history, a co-founder of the Haifa Queer History Project
He is a youth leader in the Israeli Gay Youth organization and an activist in the local LGBTQ+ community of Haifa, Israel/Palestine.“I believe that queer archives have a vital role, not only as preservers of knowledge but also as generators of queer politics, that is much needed in today’s political climate.”
Photo: Avi Kohavy
Morgan Gwenwald, Photographer, Co-Coordinator at Lesbian Herstory Archives, NYC and Head of Special Collections, Sojourner Truth Library, SUNY New Paltz, NY
I am proud to join the company of the many Archivettes who have worked with ALMS, including: Maxine Wolfe; Amy Beth; Polly Thistlethwaite; Colette Montoya-Sloan; and, Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz.By participating in the ALMS conferences LHA continues to support and explore LGBTIQ+ history, art, and literature across the globe. While collecting and preserving the voices of our past, we also engage in supporting the network of current research and creativity.
“It is fitting that we gather at the site of the Institute for Sex Research to celebrate its 100th anniversary. We are all hyper-aware of the climate that allowed its destruction and the similarities to today’s world. It is an important time to meet, connect and share our work.”
Andreas Brunner, co-director of QWIEN, Vienna, Austria
I studied Theater History and German literature in Vienna, was engagement in the “Rosa lila Villa”, a gay & lesbian communication center. In 1993 I started working in Vienna’s the first gay bookstore “Löwenherz” and in 1996 I became co-founder of the Rainbow Parade, Vienna’s Christopher Street Day Parade. I co-curated the first major exhibition on LGBT life in Austria in 2005 and in 2016 the exhibition “Sex in Vienna” at the Wien Museum. Since 2007 co-director of QWIEN – the center for gay & lesbian culture and history, Austria’s LGBT-archive.„I am interested in meeting other archivists and looking forward to learning from their experience. In a world that is approaching through internet on the one side but in which the divide between different social groups seems to deepen on the other hand international solidarity and mutual support is more important than ever.“
Photo: Peter Hiller
Linda Chernis is a South African archivist and heritage practitioner who has worked in museums and archives for the past 14 years
She has a passion for bringing history, heritage and the arts to the public. Linda became the archivist at Gay & Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) in Johannesburg in January 2015.“The ALMS conference in London was such an incredible way to connect with others in my field, I am really looking forward to Berlin 2019 to revisit old connections, and make new ones!”
Jan Pimblett, Former Principal Development Officer at London Metropolitan Archives, with responsibility for LGBTQ+ community history projects
“Having been a member of the organising committee for ALMS 2016 in London I am very excited that the next conference will be in Berlin in 2019. Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Magnus Hirschfeld Institute for Sex Research and the first queer archive, library and special collection, ALMS 2019 will be both a celebration and an inspiration for new work and ideas around the world.”
Steph Niaupari, Vice Presidentx, Latino GLBT History Project, Washington, DC
“Documenting and preservino Latinx LGBTQAI+ histories within archival efforts is not only important, but necessary. They function as a source of pride, inspiration, and new scholarship to educate “main stream” archival institutions. The ALMS conference brings forth an international exchange and networking of people who share the same goals. We, the Latino GLBT History Project are excited for the opportunity to work with the next ALMS conference.”
Beat Frischknecht, board of Heinrich Hössli Stiftung, board member of Verein Schwulenarchiv Schweiz, president of Pro Elisarion
“I support the ALMS conference, because I hope to see better networks and mutual assistance between all archives, libraries and special collections, which are engaged in LGBTIQ ( historical) research and because there are still a lot of unknown or little known institutions to discover in this field.”
Tone Hellesund, professor of cultural studies, University of Bergen, Norway
Founder and board member of the Norwegian Skeivt arkiv (Queer archive).“I participated in the last ALMS conference, and I’m looking very much forward to the upcoming one in Berlin, the birthplace of the modern LGBT-movement. The ALMS-conferences are important meeting placing for anyone working on queer archives.”
Lonneke van den Hoonaard, Managing Director IHLIA LGBT Heritage
Lonneke works since 2009 with IHLIA as managing director. She is an expert in managing projects at the intersection of emancipation and information facilities. Lonneke worked with IHLIA’s staff on professionalization process at IHLIA which is visible in increased public outreach.IHLIA is an international LGBTI library, archive, information centre on gender and sexual diversity, located in Amsterdam.
„I support the next LGBTIQ ALMS conference in Berlin because cooperating, exchanging knoweledge and experiences increase the influence and power of all worldwide guardians of LGBTIQ history.“
Gerard Koskovich is an LGBTQ public historian, curator and rare book dealer based in San Francisco
He is a founding member of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco and serves as the institution’s director of special projects and partnerships. In addition, he spends two months annually in France, where he is a member of the Collectif Archives LGBTQI, the group working to establish a queer archives, museum and public history center in Paris.“The LGBTQ+ ALMS Conference is a key venue for elaborating theoretical frameworks, exchanging best practices, and creating international networks for everyone in the field of LGBTQ archives, libraries, museums and special collections. Both those who work or volunteer in such settings and those who work as public or academic historians will find the conference invaluable.”
Photo: Aylau Tik (Paris), 2018
Pia Laskar, historian of ideas & science, leader of the project ‘Unstraight Research in Museums’, at the National Historical Museums in Sweden, in collaboration with the Unstraight Museum
“Queering Memory together with archivists, activists and scholars from around the world makes ALMS conference in Berlin highly important.”Photo: Katarina Nimmervoll
Franko Dota, Ph.D., is a historian and postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka, Croatia
He teaches courses on historical theory and methodology. His doctoral dissertation, completed in 2017 at the University of Zagreb, is the first broad historical reconstruction of the political, legal and medical history of male homosexuality in socialist Yugoslavia (1943-1989). Franko is active in the Croatian queer movement and was among the founding members of Zagreb Pride, the largest LGBT organization in his country. For Franko LGBT+ special collections are crucial for his work, and he is looking forward to the 2019 ALMS conference as the best place to enrich and exchange his research and experiences.
Don McLeod, head of book & serials acquisitions at the University of Toronto Libraries, volunteer at the ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Library & Archives for more than thirty years
His most recent book is Lesbian and Gay Liberation in Canada: A Selected Annotated Chronology, 1976–1981 (2017).“Berlin is a leading centre of scholarship for researching the queer past. What better way to celebrate the centenary of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft and the legacy of Magnus Hirschfeld than to hold the ALMS conference in Berlin in 2019?”
Klaus Mueller, Founder & Chair, Salzburg Global LGBT Forum
The Salzburg Global LGBT Forum was formed in 2013 to establish a truly global space to reflect upon and advance LGBT human rights discussions, bringing together leaders from 70 countries and from diverse fields – including human rights, legal, artistic, and religious backgrounds.“We’re looking forward to work with the next ALMS conference in Berlin. As the 21st century is globalizing, so are debates on LGBTI human rights. Archivizing, documenting and exhibiting queer histories is key to both broaden our global understanding of LGBTI lives and to understand LGBTI equality as a fundamental element of universal human rights.“
Aaron Devor, PhD, who has been working in the trans community for over thirty years, is the founder and first holder of world’s only Chair in Transgender Studies
He is also the Founder and Academic Director of the world’s largest Transgender Archives, and the founder and host of the international, interdisciplinary Moving Trans History Forward conferences. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and books on the subject and has delivered 20+ major keynote and plenary addresses to audiences around the world. Devor is a professor at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada.“There are so few of us who do this work around the world. ALMS 2016 in London was a wonderful opportunity to share enriching time with my colleagues from many countries. I’m very much looking forward to taking the next step in Berlin in 2019.”
Photo: Dan McKeon
Bengt Olson, M.Sc. (Chem. Eng.) Activist and founder-member of The Library at the society LGBT Denmark in Copenhagen
“The truly international scope of this conference makes it especially interesting for future co-operations between various institutions and organizations in different countries.”
K.J. Rawson is the Director of the Digital Transgender Archive and an Associate Professor of English at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts (U.S.)
“I attended the GLBT ALMS conference in New York and still regard it as one of the best professional gatherings I have ever attended.“
Franco Reinaudo, activist and director of Museum of Sexual Diversity Sao Paulo/Brazil
Graduated in Business Tourism Management, Marketing and Philosophy. President and founder of ABRAT GLS (Brazilian Association of LGBT Tourism) and AEG of Brazil (LGBT Entrepreneurs Association of Brazil). Instructor, lecturer and consultant on sexual diversity and inclusion policies of sexual minorities in the workplace. Activist and responsible for the marketing of the LGBT Pride Parade in São Paulo between 1999 and 2001. Author of the LGBT Guide of Brazil and the book “The LGBT Marketing” 2008. Directed the Coordination of Subjects of Sexual Diversity of the City of São Paulo, responsible for public policies for the LGBTI+ community of the municipality.“Preserving memory is fundamental to guarantee the future and freedom of the LGBT community. ALMS is a key tool in this path.”
Tuula Juvonen, gender studies scholar at TIAS, Turku/Finland
“I very much look forward to discuss with my queer colleagues the innovative ways in which they continue to collect, organize and make available those materials that capture the diversity of lives that would so easily be forgotten and neglected without their efforts.”Photo: Leena-Pihkala
Suzette Robichon, Activist lesbian, member of Archives, Research and Lesbian Culture (ARCL, CREATED IN 1983) in Paris/France
On the board of Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir, and co-founder of the only Lesbian Foundation in France, Lesbiennes d’intérêt général.„I support the ALMS congress because I want to explore and to work with international networks.“
Judit Szabó retired economist, photographer, member of the Archive and the supervisory board of Háttér Society, Hungary
The society was founded in 1995 and since 1996 operates a hotline. As far as we know, our civil organization have the earliest Library and Archive in Eastern-Europe, collecting books, newspaper articles, films etc., on a wide scale of “queering memory” to preserve and make public the informations about LBGTQI+ people’s life and social-political surroundings.“I support the ALMS because I stand for the more and more opened presense of queer history and culture in nowadays societies especially in that of the previous Soviet block.”
Raúl Navarro-Méndez, PhD candidate in Modern History at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
I participate in the “Modern Experience” Research Group, which examines the cultural construction of gender, social class and national identities in Modern Spain (from 1870 to 1990). My PhD research focuses on the historical construction of the “homosexual” subject in Spain in the 1920s and 1930s.“I am looking forward to the ALMS Conference in Berlin. I strongly believe that these kind of meetings are particularly useful to strengthen our academic and activist networks.”
Graham Willett is a historian of Australia’s queer past
He is along-time member of the Committee of the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives, a volunteer, community based organising that has been collecting, preserving and celebrating Australia’s very queer history since 1978.“The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives has had representatives at every ALMS since the first in Minneapolis in 2006. We participate because we think the chance for community organisations to get together, and to see how we all do our work, keeps us fresh and enthusiastic.”
Dr. Ladislav Zikmund-Lender, vice-president of the Society for Queer Memory in Prague, assistant professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology
He specializes in queer studies in art history and architecture and design history. In 2016–2017 he was a Fulbright scholar at the University of California in Berkeley. He is currently a board member of the Society for Queer Memory in Prague, Czech Republic.“In 2019, 50 years anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, it is important not only to remember the LGBTIQ+ movement history in English speaking countries, but also remember the liberal and radical environment of the first queer activism in Central Europe and make sure that these histories become present and visible in museums and archival institutions.”
Photo: Petr Zewlakk Vrabec
Karol Radziszewski, multidisciplinary artist, researcher, curator, editor of dik fagazine, founder of queer archives institute, warsaw, poland
“I support ALMS as I believe that working with queer archives is important not only for understanding our history but especially for shaping our future.”Photo: Kuba Dabrowski