The Collecting Collective: Community collecting and digitizing sessions

If you’ve spent any time wandering through the Royal Pavilion Gardens, you’ve likely visited the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, but on Sunday, 15 March, the space is being used for something a bit more hands-on. The Collecting Collective is a series of community sessions focused on digitising and archiving LGBTQIA+ history. Led by community archivist Rowan, the project is an initiative by Queer Heritage South and Marlborough Productions. It’s designed as a relaxed, friendly environment where the goal is simply to ensure that local queer stories and materials are preserved for the future. The session runs from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, though it’s worth noting that some booking platforms list a 1:30 pm start, so aiming for the earlier time is a sensible move.

The way these sessions work is quite flexible, offering three distinct ways to participate. If you have a personal collection of memories—think old photographs, event flyers, fanzines, or even just specific stories—you can bring them in to be scanned and included in the archive. Alternatively, if you’re interested in the technical side of things, you can volunteer to help with the actual digitising and cataloguing. You don't need any prior experience with archiving to do this, as the focus is on community participation. For this specific March date, the volunteer coordinator, Bee, will be on hand to talk about how these roles work and what future opportunities might look like within the project.

Beyond the archiving work, the sessions serve as a social point for anyone interested in local history. There will be refreshments available and a selection of LGBTQ+ history books to look through if you just want to soak up the atmosphere and meet others in the community. The event is open to anyone aged 18 and over, and while it is completely free to attend, you do need to reserve a ticket beforehand to manage the numbers. If the March date doesn't fit your schedule, the collective has already confirmed they will be back at the museum on 19 April and 7 June, keeping the same Sunday afternoon slot for those who want to drop in later in the spring.