“Our Story: Closing the queer history gap in the Highlands” in an intergenerational legacy project which seeks to gather and permanently archive stories of the LGBTQ+ community in the Highlands and Islands. 

In 2022, as part of Scotland's Year of Stories, we invited members of the LGBTQ+ community to their local Archive Centre to share their experiences of living in the Highlands. 

At these gathering sessions across the Highlands, stories were collected, recorded and submitted to the Highland Archive Service, creating the first archives that represent Highland LGBTQ+ voices, ensuring a lasting legacy and preservation of LGBTQ+ experiences in the region.

Following the gathering sessions, an exhibition was created by artists Ink Asher Hemp and Maili Fraser, along with members of Eden Court's Queer Youth Arts Collective. The exhibition embarked on a Highland tour, returning to each of the locations where gathering sessions were held. 

The exhibition will return to the Highlands Archive Centre and Eden Court in 2023 before entering the archive collections permanently.  

Upcoming Exhibition tour dates:

Highland Archive Centre | Spring 2023 TBC

Eden Court, Inverness | Summer 2023 TBC

We would love to continue to record interviews and collect stories from members of the community living in, or connected to, the Highlands. If you are willing to share your story with us, or would like to find out more about this project, please contact the Highland Archive Service team on [email protected].

This project is possible thanks to funding awarded to Eden Court Highlands and High Life Highland’s Highland Archive Service from VisitScotland, the National Heritage Lottery Fund and Museums Galleries Scotland.