Pride Against Prejudice

Exploring LGBT+ health through archives, activism, and intergenerational collaboration

Project Overview:

Pride Against Prejudice explored the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (LGLS) archive—held by Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA)—as a lens through which to discuss queer health, identity and activism, past and present. Working with LGBT Youth Scotland and LGBT Age, the team delivered a series of creative workshops focused on themes such as protest, safe spaces, and queer ecology.

Participants responded to original archive material through creative writing, zines, and collaborative discussion. These works were brought together with archival highlights to form a digital exhibition, co-created with community groups. The result: a living, intergenerational reflection on queer health and wellbeing, raising public awareness of LGBT+ history and helping to reimagine how archives are described, interpreted, and accessed today.

Team:

  • Louise Williams – Engagement Officer, LHSA, University of Edinburgh

Exhibition
Goals & Activities

  • Make the LGLS archive more visible, accessible and relevant to LGBTQ+ communities today

  • Use creative and intergenerational workshops to co-produce new responses to historical material

  • Challenge traditional barriers to engaging with institutional archives

  • Develop an inclusive, digital-first exhibition shaped by community voices

Project Outputs

Digital Exhibition: Speaking Out

  • A powerful, community-created exhibition weaving archival material with contemporary queer voices.

Promotional Video

  • A short film introducing the project’s aims, collaborators and exhibition content.

Archival Engagement & Legacy

  • Workshops informed inclusive archival practice and helped shape future interpretation strategies within LHSA and beyond.

     

Downloads & Links
Speaking Out Exhibition