Queer archive at law school holds its first exhibition

Based in Bengaluru, it is a repository of personal narratives and oral histories and acts as a resource for researchers

A multimedia project is archiving the stories on gender and sexuality at the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru. It is called Queer Archive for Memory Reflection and Activism (QAMRA).

It held its first public exhibition in the city last Saturday to situate the ongoing Pride campaigns in the larger context of queer protests in India and the politics embodied in these spaces. It was curated by QAMRA archivist Siddarth S Ganesh.

It has also started offering an elective course ‘Preserving Memories: Law, Social Transformation and the Queer Archive’ at NLSIU this month.

It covers the importance of and different approaches to archiving, and allows students to work with QAMRA.

The repository holds personal narratives, oral histories of queer activism and social movements, organisational records, ephemera, and documents on the legal proceedings of the decriminalisation of Section 377.

“Archiving is a vital part of history to create visibility,” project director and lead archivist Ammel Sharon explains. QAMRA has advisors from the fields of films, academics, law, activism and others.

Interviews, newspaper mentions and educational material regarding activists and queer community members collected by filmmaker T Jayashree, and educator Ivan John can be found.

It also holds the collections of Maya Sharma and Indra Pathak, founders of Vikalp, a grassroots organisation. It contains accounts of the lives of lesbians and transmen in Gujarat.

It is a living archive and they are respectful of how people are represented. Ammel explains, “Many people who have contributed their stories to our archive or are mentioned in these stories are alive.”
But QAMRA is doing more than preserving the history of the marginalised.

“It promotes queer rights advocacy through archival activism. It supports activists, students, educators, artists, and scholars working in the field of gender and sexuality by acting as a resource.” For instance, author Roopa Pai accessed the archives to research for her latest book ‘Cubbon Park: The Green Heart of Bengaluru’.

An introductory archiving workshop by QAMRA, and a public talk by Vivek Divan, a queer activist and public health advocate, are planned for next month.

*QAMRA is open to the public on prior appointment from Monday to Friday, 2 to 5 pm, at NLSIU, Nagarbhavi. Visit qamra.in for details