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Queer Norfolk showcases county's LGBT+ heritage

Adam Baker Adam Baker at Norfolk Heritage Centre holding up a poster and a sign that are in the Queer Norfolk archiveAdam Baker
Volunteer Adam Baker said the project was bringing people and information together

A county's LGBT+ history is being brought to light with an online project.

Queer Norfolk said it aimed to seek, record and showcase objects stored away in museums and archives that told the story of the county's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender past.

People can view artefacts through the project's website.

Adam Baker, who is running the project voluntarily, said it was bringing people and information together.

The 25-year-old from Norwich said some of the items were "not necessarily hidden, but they are hard to find".

"This project aims to draw together information from all over Norfolk to reveal LGBT+ landscapes of the past in our county," he said.

Norfolk Heritage Centre The design for the Norwich Pride bannerNorfolk Heritage Centre
Items in the collection include the design for the Norwich Pride banner

Mr Baker said some of the items dated back to the 1700s and artefacts from over the years included posters, leaflets, magazines, mugs, T-shirts and trinkets.

"Since we started, the project has got people talking to each other and it's brought people together to find out more and more," he said.

The scheme has been supported by the charity Norwich Pride and Norfolk Heritage Centre, which has a Norfolk LGBTQ+ collection that has been developed over several years.

Norfolk Heritage Centre A notice for Norwich Radical Gays from the 1980sNorfolk Heritage Centre
Another items include a notice from the 1980s for Norwich Radical Gays, a group established by Julie Bremner who now works for Norwich Pride

Julie Bremner, from Norwich Pride, said: "The digitisation of queer history will help demonstrate how far we have made progress towards LGBTQ+ equality, and how much more we need to do.

"We urge people to look through their own historical objects and consider whether they would be a good addition to the collection."

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