Please note: A Queer Century, 1869-1969 exhibit has been extended to January 30, 2020. See location and hours at the bottom of this article for more details on visiting the exhibit.
The UBC Okanagan Library is excited to announce it will be hosting the exhibition, “A Queer Century, 1869-1969,” on loan from UBC Rare Books and Special Collections at UBC Library, in the Okanagan Special Collections space on the lower floor of the Commons building. The exhibit will open November 13th and run through to the end of December.
About the Exhibit
“A Queer Century” tells stories from the history of sexuality, progressing from the emergence of homosexuality as a named concept in 1869 to the announced decriminalization of homosexual activity in Canada in 1969, and highlighting cultural events in the changing perceptions of gender and sexuality. The exhibition features books, ephemera, and archival materials in English, German, and French from RBSC’s collections, as well as original correspondence held in UBC’s University Archives, and materials generously loaned by local private collectors.
This exhibition is made possible by the Queer Collections Project (QCP), a joint, interdisciplinary initiative organized by faculty in the Faculty of Arts with the support of UBC Library and housed at Rare Books and Special Collections. The QCP began with seed funding from the Jane Rule Endowment for the Study of Human Relationships (JRE), with the goal of making significant additions to the UBC Library’s collections, thereby putting in place primary resources for undergraduate and graduate research into the study of the history of sexuality.
Since 2017, the faculty curators—Dr. Kyle Frackman (Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies) and Dr. Gregory Mackie (Department of English Language and Literatures)—have aimed to add to the University’s collections and to surface items that UBC Library already owns. The QCP has received generous funding and support from the JRE, UBC Library, the UBC Provost’s Office, and the Ulrich Maché Memorial Fund.
Opening Event at the Okanagan Library
All are invited to join the Library in welcoming the curators, Dr. Kyle Frackman and Dr. Gregory Mackie, to campus and to take a tour of the exhibit at the opening on November 13th from one to four p.m. Tours will run at 1:15 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be available between 1 and 4 p.m.
Location and hours:
The Queer Century Exhibition will run through to the end of December in Special Collections in COM 004 in the Commons building. Please note Special Collections is located on the lower level of the Commons in the D. Ross Fitzpatrick Great Hall. The Special Collections reading room is open 10am – 3pm, Monday to Friday during the academic session (September to April) and by appointment during the summer (May to August).
Thank you to Chelsea Shriver, Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian, for her background research, writing and support for this article.