Brisbane Pride is launching a major new initiative to preserve and celebrate Brisbane’s LGBTQIA+ histories, calling on the community to help ensure its stories are not lost.
The Brisbane Pride History Project will be publicly launched at Preserving Pride, a special panel discussion alongside Brisbane Pride Fair Day, at Brisbane Powerhouse on Saturday 24 October 2026.
The project will create a living and evolving record of Brisbane’s LGBTQIA+ history through oral histories, community collecting, digital storytelling and supporting LGBTQIA+ collection development at public museums, libraries and archives.
A dedicated Brisbane Pride History page on the Brisbane Pride website will also launch at the event, providing a public home for the project and a way for the community to engage with its development.
Brisbane Pride President James McCarthy said much of Brisbane’s LGBTQIA+ history was sitting in homes and personal collections across the city.
“Our community has an extraordinary history, but so much of it is hidden away in cupboards, boxes, photo albums and personal collections,” said Mr McCarthy.
“A photograph, a poster, a piece of clothing, a letter or a piece of Pride memorabilia might seem like an everyday object, but together these things tell the story of who we are, where we have come from and how our community has changed.”
Preserving Pride will bring community members into conversation with researchers and collecting professionals to explore why LGBTQIA+ history matters, what should be preserved and how communities can have a say in the way their histories are collected and interpreted.
The panel will also encourage people to consider whether they hold photographs, documents, posters, garments, memorabilia, digital material or other objects that could help tell Brisbane’s LGBTQIA+ story.
Mr McCarthy said preserving Pride history was about more than collecting objects. “This project is about preserving the people and the stories behind the objects – the activism, friendships, celebrations, struggles, creativity and community spaces that have shaped LGBTQIA+ life in Brisbane,” he said.
“We want to make sure future generations can discover and understand this history, rather than having important parts of our story disappear.”
The Brisbane Pride History Project will develop through ongoing community participation, with the ambition of building stronger connections between LGBTQIA+ communities and collecting institutions and identifying material that could be preserved in public collections.
“Brisbane’s LGBTQIA+ history belongs to the community, and the community should have a central role in deciding what is remembered and how it is remembered,” said Mr McCarthy.
“Preserving Pride is an invitation to Brisbane’s LGBTQIA+ community: have you got something that can help tell our story?”
Preserving Pride is a free event and will be held from 12 noon to 1.00pm on Saturday 24 October at the Brisbane Powerhouse, as part of Brisbane Pride Fair Day. For more information and bookings, visit: www.preservinghistory.eventbrite.com.au for details.
Image: Brisbane Pride Rally and March (supplied)