The following blog entries are made up of research into Croydon’s Queer History, and guest entries written by LGBT+ people with a connection to Croydon.
A note on the term ‘Queer’ - Part 2
Guest blogger Kate Paul presents us with an introduction to queer theory.
Queer Symbols
Guest blogger, Clara Atkinson discusses queer symbols and the importance of their visibility in the LGBT+ community. Clara is an artist with a BA from the Ruskin School of Art. She is currently part of Conditions Studio Programme in Croydon. Her work looks at language, technology, symbols and material histories. View her Instagram here
“I’ll Always Remember You Sweetheart”
Guest blogger, Mark Bunyan shares with us his song ‘Ill Always Remember You Sweetheart’, describing his emotional performance at the funeral of Mike Harvey, partner of 30 years to Ray Harvey-Amer.
‘Croydon Handbag’ by Bruce Guthrie
Meet Bruce Guthrie and listen to his audio programme ‘Croydon Handbag’, featuring the voices of the Bristol Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Mark Goldby, Museum of Croydon staff and Ray Harvey-Amer.
Croydon Pride 1993
The Croydon Pride 1993 events pamphlet is one of several queer artefacts identified by Mark Goldby in Chapter 1 of the Queer+ Croydon Exhibition. This small pale pink A5 pamphlet is a window into the world of the Local LGBT+ community of Croydon in the early 1990s.
Jon Brown’s Account
Jon Brown talks about his experiences during the run up to the Celebrate ‘exhibition’ and the difficulties along the road.
A note on the term ‘Queer’
In his second blog, Queer+ Croydon exhibitor Mark Goldby introduces the history of the term ‘Queer’; from negative to the powerful reclamation we see today.