Queer history PERCOLating through time and institutions

With the NWO-funded Perverse Collections, Eliza Steinbock researches the evolution of Europe's LGBTQ+ archives. What is preserved by whom and why? How have these marginalised and often persecuted communities managed to preserve their own history? What can we learn about how to preserve history, categorise it and make it accessible and relevant? "It is also the desire to know that there have always been people like me that motivates me as a researcher," says Eliza Steinbock, Associate Professor of Gender and Diversity Studies. It is an understatement to say that displaying the richness of queer and trans culture hasn't always been a priority of national archives and galleries. And yet, there is a wealth of art and cultural artefacts fundamental to a historic understanding and appreciation of these subcultures. Perverse Collections (PERCOL) wants to move towards sustainable strategies for protecting European LGBTQ+ history through a critical and nuanced understanding of the evolution of its various archives, both formal and informal. PERCOL's efforts will not only benefit scholars, but also queer and trans community members as well as those working in galleries, libraries, archives or museums. A European diorama.