Man donates massive collection of BC Gay and Lesbian archives to City of Vancouver
A man described as an active, longtime member of the Vancouver LGBTQ2+ community, has donated his BC Gay and Lesbian Archives (BCGLA) collection – established in 1976 – to the City of Vancouver Archives, which is now available to the public.
For over 40 years, Ron Dutton has acquired and described textual records, photographs, periodicals, ephemera, and audiovisual materials of significance to the LGBTQ2+ community in Vancouver and British Columbia, and provided access to these materials from his home.
Out of what he said was concern for the future of the BCGLA, Dutton donated the entire collection to the City Archives.
“The BC Gay and Lesbian Archives was founded in 1976 to collect, organize, preserve and make publicly accessible the ongoing stories of Vancouver’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and two-spirited communities, from earliest historical times to the present,” said Dutton. “In these 42 years, hundreds of researchers have passed through my home as they examined this ever-expanding collection.”
At over 750,000 items, Dutton said the collection has now outgrown his ability to house it all.
The collection consists of:
- 16.4 metres of subject files
- 8.6 metres of periodicals
- 2,000+ posters
- 7,500+ photographs
- 220+ moving image recordings
- 60+ sound recordings
The content includes:
- Video documentation of charity drag balls
- Extensive photo documentation of Pride Festivals from 1981 to 2009
- Textual, photographic, and video materials related to HIV/AIDS activism
- Subject files pertaining to such wide-ranging topics as art, immigration, censorship, gender identity, hate crimes, health services, religion, sports, and youth activism
“I am thrilled that the BCG+L Archives now resides with the City Archives,” he said.
“We are honoured that Ron has chosen the City Archives as the permanent home for his collection,” said Heather Gordon, City Archivist. “Not only does the collection reflect the diversity within the LGBTQ2+ community and its evolution over the past 40 years, it documents a community whose lives and activities have historically been underrepresented in archival holdings.”
Dutton added that the Archives have “the technical resources and sympathetic staff needed to sensitively manage this collection, ensure its preservation, and position it within the context of the city’s overall history.”
Going forward, Dutton said he intends to continue collecting both old and new materials that document my community’s evolution, for deposit at the City Archives.”
All 2,181 subject files are now available and can be viewed in the Archives’ Reading Room.
Periodicals are being processed and will be available by the fall.
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