by Bel Pye
I took two images I found in the archive that resonated with me. One was a badge, the other a postcard, both from the LAIC (Lesbian Archive and Information Centre) collection. I tried to recreate these images on fabric, and have changed the text on the badge image to make it about a current discriminatory law. I tried making the bag in the Suffragette colours of white, purple and green.
What the archive has taught me is the importance, as an activist, of understanding your history. Knowing what came before allows you to build on top of that rather than starting from scratch – learning from the mistakes of others rather than having to make your own, as well as making informed criticism and highlighting what you want to change in the future. As an activist I have learnt that I am part of a timeline that stretches back long long before I was even born.
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Return to We Recruit!: Campaigns and Organisations or the LGBTQ Collections Online Resource.
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