The efforts and plans of Hungarian LGBTQ archives

Abstract

In our presentation we would like to introduce the work of the two Hungarian LGBTQ archives. The Archives of Háttér Society (established in 1995) collects LGBTQ materials comprehensively, while Labrisz Lesbian Association (founded in 1999) concentrates primarily on Hungarian lesbian herstory. The archives receive growing attention from both researchers and journalists. We participate in the research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on the 20th century social history of homosexuality. We are also editing LGBTQ-related articles on Wikipedia and plan to found an LGBTQ periodical too. Háttér’s electronic database will be soon available at its website. Labrisz has conducted interviews with elderly lesbians in the framework of its lesbian herstory project (resulted in a documentary and a volume of interviews). In the last couple of years, Labrisz has also worked to construct a lesbian herstory archive, including primary documents, photos, articles, books, and audiovisual materials from the 20th century, with all the difficulty of finding traces. Its long-term aim is to serve as a resource for scholars, activists and the wider public, thus to combine the functions of research, movement, and community building (typical for LGBTQ archives). We have contacted a few state libraries and archives, but besides the openness we have also experienced that the government-dependent institutions are afraid of supporting LGBT+ programs. The decrease of financial support also jeopardizes the future operation of LGBTQ archives and the organizations themselves. Another problem to solve is the strengthening of the awareness, interest, and activity of LGBTQ community and the reaching of non-LGBT people too. In order to learn new ideas and best practices it is important to think together and exchange views with other countries’ LGBTQ archives, especially with those working in the region among similar social and political circumstances.