LGBT Group creates letters and slogans for PRONI’s Archives

Earlier in March our 100 Shared Stories strand of the Making the Future project officially got underway. Led by Public Record Office NI (PRONI) with the support of Nerve Cente, the strand aims to create a digital archive of 100 stories inspired by 100 documents from PRONI’s archives to reflect over 100 years of Irish history. 

The 100 Shared Stories project will look at 10 themes including gender, war & conflict, music & arts, sport, business and emigration. The first engagement programme explored the theme of Gender & Identity and was delivered in partnership with HereNI and the LGBT Heritage Project to 14 participants.

This eight-week programme enabled participants to share their experiences of the LGBTQ+ community in Northern Ireland. Activities included a virtual guided tour of PRONI’s LGBTQ+’s collections, talks by Orla Egan (Cork LGBT Archive) and Nadine Gilmore (Belfast Pink Press 1970s-1990s), and a life-story playlist & home treasures creation session. 

Participants also got the opportunity to take part in discussions around story collection, preservation & access as well as learning new skills in creative slogan & letter writing workshops.

A selection of some of the letters and slogans, which have now been deposited in PRONI, are available to view below.