Crossyear：

Societies1/2:

Participating in this course has deepened my understanding of archives as more than neutral records, but as contested spaces that shape historical narratives and societal memory. The visit to the Bishopsgate Institute’s archive at 230 Bishopsgate, London, provided a firsthand experience of how archival collections can serve as powerful tools for representation, activism, and cultural preservation.

The LGBTQ+ archives at Bishopsgate Institute are particularly striking in their depth and inclusivity.

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) materials reinforced the importance of grassroots organizing and the ways in which archives can challenge dominant historical narratives.

This visit made me reconsider the role of archives in design and storytelling. In our course, we discussed how archives, databases, and indexes are not just repositories of knowledge but also sites of power, shaped by ideological, political, and cultural forces.What struck me was a book in the archive where the author insisted on drawing a self-portrait every day in a sketchbook.

he Bishopsgate Institute’s LGBTQ+ archive is an invaluable resource, not only for historical research but also for rethinking the role of archives in shaping contemporary discourse on identity, accessibility, and representation.