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YYCGayHistory @CalgaryPride 2022

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

A big thank you to all of the Calgary Gay History Project readers who filled out our survey for queer history offerings at Calgary Pride this year (August 26 – September 5). Here is where you will find us:

Saturday, August 27, 2 PM

Join Shelf Life Books and Kevin Allen for a talk about his book Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary. The talk will be followed by an open mic, where audience members can share their stories of Gay Calgary or read poems or prose pieces (with a 6-8 minute time slot limit). If you identify as a part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and would like to participate, then please let us know at events@shelflifebooks.ca! You can also sign up before the event, space permitted. Registration for audience attendance is recommended and appreciated! Free event.

Saturday, August 27, 4 PM

The Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen will lead a gay history walk through the Beltline. Learn about the City’s fascinating LGBTQ2 past. The walk begins at 4:00 PM in Central Memorial Park (meet at the Boer War Memorial in the centre of the park) and ends at 5:30 PM at Lois Szabo Commons, a new city park celebrating LGBTQ2 history. Spaces are limited; please register in advance through Calgary Pride. Free event.

Friday, September 2, 7 PM

Our friends at The Calgary Institute for the Humanities presents the 4th Annual LGTBQ2S+ Lecture, featuring Dr. Jules Gill-Peterson. Titled: Trans Panic: A Global History, Dr. Gill-Peterson explores the history of violence against trans women. Where did it come from? And when did it arise? Letting go of a purely psychological lens, history shows that targeting trans femininity has been integral to colonial statecraft around the world for the past 150 years. On Zoom or in person at the Central Library. Reserve your spot: here. Free event.

Sunday, September 4, Noon

Our History Booth at the Calgary Pride Festival—Immediately following the Pride Parade on September 4, join us at Pride’s new festival venue – Fort Calgary. At our table there will be history artifacts, books, and ephemera as well as Project volunteers to answer questions and have conversations about Calgary’s Queer History. Sponsored by Calgary Pride. Free event. Stop by and say, “hi!” Happy Pride!

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YYCgayhistory Map Launch

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

A few years ago, Dr. Jim Ellis, Director of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH), emailed the Calgary Gay History Project about an idea the Institute was musing: the Calgary Atlas Project. The CIH thought it would be illuminating to create a series of alternative maps exploring unknown layers of the city.

On Thursday, November 21st, the inaugural map in the Calgary Atlas Project launches – A Queer Map: A Guide to the LGBTQ+ History of Calgary: text by Kevin Allen and map art by Mark Clintberg. Join us at the recently renovated Contemporary Calgary (Planetarium), at 701 11 Street SW for artist talks and a reception from 6:30 – 8:00 PM. Tickets for this free event can be found: here.

Hot off the presses: A Queer Map from @HumanitiesYYC (Twitter)

At the reception, you will be able to pick up a copy of A Queer Map by donation to the CIH. Donations will support the new LGBTQ2S+ endowed lecture series (notably, the Institute brought in seminal historian George Chauncey, author of Gay New York this past August).

The CIH explains: “The Atlas Project seeks to recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that will illuminate in surprising ways the character of the city. Individual maps will document such phenomena as the early histories of Calgary’s Queer communities, the history of Indigenous involvement with the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the traces left by immigrant communities, and the lasting effects of the labour movement. The Atlas aims to bring a new vision of Calgary to Calgary; to show us how we got to where we are, and who we got to be.”

{KA}