The Edmonton Queer History Project (EQHP) is a community-engaged research project focused on documenting, preserving, and making visible the history of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

's 2SLGBTQ+ community. One of EQHP's most prominent initiatives is a map of 27 locations around

Downtown Edmonton Downtown Edmonton is the central business district of Edmonton, Alberta. Located at the geographical centre of the city, the downtown area is bounded by 109 Street to the west, 105 Avenue to the north, 97 Street to the east, 97 Avenue and Rossdale ...

, each with historical significance to the local 2SLGBTQ+ community, that was initially launched in March 2022. The Project also launched an interactive website, two podcasts (''From Here to Queer'' and ''Vriend Versus Alberta''), and regularly hosts walking tours following the EQHP downtown map to promote the city's queer history that is often absent in school curriculum and left out of public conversation.

History

The Edmonton Queer History Project, then known as the Queer History Project, began in 2015 as an interactive multi-media art exhibit to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Edmonton Pride Festival. Dr. Kristopher Wells organized the project with funding support from the Edmonton Community Foundation and Dr. Michelle Lavoie curated an exhibit, called ''We Are Here: Queer History Project'', detailing decades of Edmonton's 2SLGBTQ+ community member stories at the

Art Gallery of Alberta The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies an building at Churchill Square (Edmonton), Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittor ...

, which ran from 5 June until 21 June 2015. Open calls for contributions of personal memorabilia and stories for the exhibit went out in January, 2015, to ensure individual experiences were centred. Additionally, recording equipment was available for community members to add their stories to the project during the exhibit's run. The exhibit featured 21 interviews recorded with community leaders like

Michael Phair Michael Albert Phair (born August 1950) is a Canadian politician, who served on Edmonton City Council from 1992 until 2007. He was the first openly gay elected politician in the province of Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of ...

as well as posters, photographs, and other ephemera. After its run at the Art Gallery of Alberta, ''We Are Here: Queer History Project'' became a

travelling exhibition A travelling exhibition, also referred to as a "travelling exhibit" or a "touring exhibition", is a type of exhibition that is presented at more than one venue. Temporary exhibitions can bring together objects that might be dispersed among sever ...

, visiting small towns in rural

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Current work

Following ''We Are Here: Queer History Project'', the Project's members collated their research efforts into more accessible formats. In March 2022, EQHP launched a new website including a historical timeline of Edmonton's Pride Festival, a podcast called ''From Here to Queer'', walking tours, and a map with 27 locations of historical significance to the local 2SLGBTQ+ community. Free physical copies of the map were made available at the

Edmonton International Airport Edmonton International Airport , officially branded YEG Edmonton International Airport since 2022, is the primary air passenger and air cargo facility in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian pro ...

and various

Edmonton Public Library The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) is a public library system in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Library cards are free to all Edmontonians; as part of its centennial in 2013, the Edmonton Public Library eliminated membership fees. Universi ...

locations. Dr. Kristopher Wells,

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

and associate professor at

MacEwan University Grant MacEwan University, commonly known as MacEwan University, is a public university located in Downtown Edmonton, Alberta. Originally established as a community college which was named in honor of Dr. Grant MacEwan, 9th Lieutenant Governor of ...

, leads the project's research activities from MacEwan University's Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity. Original members of the EQHP team include Dr. Kristopher Wells, Dr. Michelle Lavoie, Darrin Hagen,

, Rob Browatzke, Kyler Chittick, Japkaran Saroya, and Paige Simpson. After a successful launch of the downtown map, EQHP was approached by the

Old Strathcona Old Strathcona is a historic district in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now home to many of Edmonton's arts and entertainment facilities, as well as a local s ...

Business Association to research queer history landmarks on the south side of the city like the Pride Corner of

Whyte Avenue Whyte (82) Avenue is an arterial road in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It became the main street of the City of Strathcona as it formed, and now runs through Old Strathcona. It was named in 1891 after Sir William Whyte, the supe ...

. EQHP's work continues with the introduction of a community map tagging project, #EQHPStories, and a new podcast, produced in partnership with the Edmonton Community Foundation, entitled ''Vriend Versus Alberta'', marking the 25th anniversary of '' Vriend v Alberta''. Launched in 2023, #EQHPStories is an interactive map of Edmonton which community members are able to add pins to locations across the city and add their own stories. A

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...

of various local 2SLGBTQ+ magazines, newsletters, and other items is also being digitized and hosted on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

for EQHP in collaboration with the

MacEwan University Library Grant MacEwan University, commonly known as MacEwan University, is a public university located in Downtown Edmonton, Alberta. Originally established as a community college which was named in honor of Dr. Grant MacEwan, 9th Lieutenant Governor of ...

and

University of Alberta Library The University of Alberta Library is the library system of the University of Alberta. The University of Alberta Library has 10 branches and divisions at the University of Alberta's Edmonton campuses and at University of Alberta Augustana Campus. ...

Guided tours

With support from the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, EQHP hosts free guided

walking tour A walking tour usually refers to either, # A guided walk of a historical or cultural site, usually in an urban setting, or # A long walk over several days in the countryside. Also called backpacking. Definitions (1) Also included are a walking ...

s, as well as bus tours, that explore local queer history. The interactive 90-minute tours are intended for small groups to promote interaction and conversation amongst participants. Members of the EQHP team, such as Michael Phair and Darrin Hagen, lead the walking tours.

Podcasts

The original EQHP podcast, ''From Here to Queer,'' is hosted by local playwright and queer historian, Darrin Hagen. Exploring the people, places, and moments important to Edmonton's queer history, the podcast features guests like Edmonton's first openly gay city councillor,

, Judge Julie Lloyd, and

Alison Redford Alison Merrilla Redford (born March 7, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. She was the 14th premier of Alberta, having served in this capacity from October 7, 2011, to March 23, 2014. Redford was born in Kitimat, British Columbia ...

, the first female

Premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the head of government and first minister of the Canadian province of Alberta. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the governing United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The premi ...

. ''Vriend Versus Alberta'' is the newest podcast from EQHP, produced in collaboration with the Edmonton Community Foundation, as a limited 10-part series''.'' Also hosted by Darrin Hagen, ''Vriend Versus Alberta'' commemorates the 25th anniversary of landmark legal case for 2SLGBTQ+ rights in Canada, '' Vriend v Alberta''.

Awards

In September 2022, the Edmonton Queer History Project was shortlisted for the Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Community Programming. This award is one of multiple

Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

, recognizing organizations that "represent remarkable and inspiring initiatives that encourage public engagement in Canadian history."

References

{{Reflist

External links

Edmonton Queer History Project website

Edmonton Queer History Collection
on the Internet Archive
#EQHPStories websiteFrom Here to Queer
podcast LGBTQ in Alberta LGBTQ organizations based in Canada Organizations established in 2015 LGBTQ history in Canada Public awareness campaigns Research projects Social history organizations History organizations based in Canada Digital humanities projects Map websites History of Edmonton Historical geography of Canada Art exhibitions in Canada Multimedia works Popular scholarship Heritage interpretation MacEwan University Projects in North America Projects established in 2015 Collaborative mapping Digital history projects Digital library projects Cultural heritage of Canada