Sponsored by Julia Bryan-Wilson, Professor, History of Art, University of California Berkeley
Cruising the Archive at ONE - David Frantz, Curator, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, University of Southern California
Collecting Anything a Lesbian ever Touched: A Grass Roots Archive - Angela Brinskele, Director of Communications, June Mazer Lesbian Archives, University of California Los Angeles
Tom of Finland, In and Out of L.A. - Marti Pike, Woodbury University Librarian and Volunteer, Tom of Finland Foundation Archives / Allison Wickman, Vice President, Tom of Finland Society, Helsinki, Finland and Toni Rodriguez, San Jose State University SLIS Graduate Student, Tom of of Finland Volunteer
Moderator: Deborah Evans-Cantrell, formerly Catalog/Reference Librarian, Indianapolis Museum of Art
Representatives from three of the Los Angeles area’s major LGBTQ collections, the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at University of Southern California, the Tom of Finland Archives, and the Mazer Lesbian Archives at University of California Los Angeles will present on their LGBTQ collections. These collections have materials and resources dedicated to the art and lives of gay artists, such as posters, art, museum objects and other artifacts from artists’ lives. In the case of Tom of Finland, even Tom’s home is part of the collection, open as a museum and community center housing the Tom of Finland collection. Several of these Los Angeles area collections also have collaborative relationships with living gay artists working in their communities. In these relationships the collection is actively working with artists to gather and preserve the artwork and artifacts of artists’ lives. Each speaker will discuss the unique issues and challenges surrounding their particular collections. Additionally, they will share how such issues have changed or effected how they approach their collections and how these issues have helped them develop future strategies for continued gathering and preservation of collections. The panelists will also share how they see their work being affected by technological change and the need for improved research and access to these unique collections. Each collection panelist will also share how they see their role as information professional to such unique audiences and collections in the past, present, and, most importantly, the future. Together all the panelists will explore issues surrounding the partnerships and collaborations between collections and artists, the marginalization of the LGBTQ community, and the current gains in social understanding and approval for LGBTQ people.