LGBT+ MEMORY FAIR
Stoke-on-Trent

• Friday 28th March at City Centre Library, Hanley, 11am – 4pm [with a break from 12.30 – 1.30pm]
• Saturday 29th March at Stoke town Library, 11am – 4pm.

You are invited to join us at the LGBT+ MEMORY FAIR, which is led by the North Midlands LGBT+ Older Peoples Group (OLGBT) and GRAIN Projects, an event hosted at the libraries to explore and celebrate the identity and heritage of LGBT+ residents of Stoke-on-Trent.

Visitors are invited to bring along their photographs, objects, memorabilia and ephemera that document their LGBT+ experience and lives in the city. A meaningful object that holds a story, a memory that you can share, or a photograph that is treasured – Please bring these along with you on the day.

The Memory Fair is part of the city’s 100 th anniversary celebrations and aims to shine a light on LGBT+ identity and history. If you have memories of our local LGBT commercial scene, the pubs, the theatres, the support for The Miners in the 1984-5 strikes, the first PRIDE in Stoke, the first LGBT+ NightClub, or want to share a personal story of civil partnerships, weddings and family – please join us.

Participants will take part in an ‘Antiques Roadshow’ styled event, sharing their content, memories and stories with individuals, photography and history experts. This heritage, often hidden from view, will become part of a new LGBT+ archive, housed at the Stoke-on-Trent City Archive Service, ensuring that the heritage is accessible, available and celebrated long term. 

For the largest part of the 100 years since Stoke-on-Trent became a city, people have been unable to live openly with publicly acknowledged LGBT+ identities. This has meant their lives and experiences have been hidden from view and memory. By identifying, collating and documenting this heritage for the future we will celebrate and commemorate participants, their lives, achievements and identity, ensuring that LGBT+ people are remembered and visible as part of the city’s centenary celebrations.

Please join us to share your stories and memories.
Your photographs, objects and items will be scanned and recorded with your permission and consent and returned back to you on the same day.