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The financial cost of this significant enterprise was underwritten by: Major Donor Mitchell Gould Co-Sponsors American Friends Service Committee Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Concerns Quaker Lesbian & Gay Fellowship Donors Sa'Ed Atshan |
The seeds of this sweeping exhibition on the 1963 publication of Towards a Quaker View of Sex (TQVOS) were planted by Mitchell Gould in late 2010. At that time Mitch, a seasoned public historian specializing in the intersections between gay history and Quaker history, made a major gift to LGBT-RAN designated to develop an educational resource on Quaker LGBT history. Subsequently I convened a small team of LGBT and Quaker historians and activists to explore possible subjects and media for this resource. After months of consultation this team proposed to focus on what was likely the most influential act in Quaker LGBT history, yet is largely forgotten today--the publication of this first-ever study by any religious body to affirm LGBT persons. An online exhibition of this magnitude could not have happened without the active participation of Keith Wedmore, the remaining member of the working group that published TQVOS. Keith was gracious enough to sit for two long interviews to recall his experiences. Furthermore he uncovered a large file of records from the group's work, unique artifacts that form the backbone of this exhibition. Michael Hutchinson spent hours in the Friends House Library in London processing dozens of TQVOS documents and selecting artifacts to scan and include in this exhibition. David Blamires has almost single-handedly kept the story of Towards a Quaker View of Sex alive over the decades through his research and writings--his accounts helped steer our research. Stephen McNeil‘s passion for this project and willingness to help in many ways helped get us through some fallow periods during this three-year project. Christopher Densmore, curator at the Friends Historical Library, made many astute suggestions for guiding our research and helped arrange for scanning artifacts. Josef Keith provided needed assistance and answered questions on archival research at the Friends House Library. Carl Foote, the technological guru behind the LGBT Religious Archives Network, designed this exhibition, making it both attractive and user-friendly. The scope and detail of this exhibition is the result of many other valuable volunteers who assisted in documenting the TQVOS story in different ways: Brian Blackmore, Kara Blackmore, Marjorie Bryer, Gill Coffin, Craig Fees, Neil Fullagar, Janet Galbraith, Rachel Giovanniello, Rhiannon Grant, Rod Harper, David Johansing, Tony Watson, Jane Wheatley, Heather R. White, and Joyce Wu. If you are interested in contributing to this exhibition in some way, please contact me. Mark Bowman, coordinator |