What An Exciting October!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
In November, we turn our thoughts towards gratitude, and at FMA that's really easy to do! We are so grateful for our many, many supporters who donated during LGBTQ History Month. Throughout October, we were able to host an exciting schedule of events, talks, exhibitions, and more!
We are now so close to our goal of raising $100,000 for Henry Faulkner’s 100th Birthday! Through the generosity of dozens of supporters like yourself, we've raised almost $75,000. Can you help us meet the gap? We only have three more months left of our challenge! Consider a gift today.
A huge thank you to everyone who has donated to FMA in 2024! We couldn’t so this without you.
Want to make a donation to help share Kentucky's LGBTQ history?
Give online by clicking here. Every gift is tax-deductible!
As Henry Faulkner used to always say:
“Save the seeds, children! Save the seeds.”
A MONTH FULL OF LGBTQ HISTORY!
We hosted our first ever presentation and workshop to learn how to archive and preserve your own LGBTQ history! Participants received their own archiving kit and were taught archival methods. We look forward to hosting this workshop again in the future!
We shared the rich cultural heritage of Kentucky’s LGBTQ community at a presentation at the University of Kentucky’s William T. Young Library.
The Dick & Dyke Art Show was a huge success! Thanks to you, we were able to raise over $4,000 in just one night! A huge thank you to the artists for donating their work, Crossings Lexington for hosting us, and to Tom Sawyer Photo & Marketing for photographing the event!
Eating donuts AND helping share Kentucky's LGBTQ history! North Lime Coffee & Donuts provided a portion of all tie-dye donut sale to benefit the Faulkner Morgan Archive! Frontrunners Lexington also hosted their Saturday run at North Lime.
We had a wonderful time partnering with Frontrunners Lexington for a guided walking tour of Lexington’s LGBTQ landmarks! A huge thanks to Muse Marketing for the incredible images.
We celebrated at the Closing Reception for Queer Gear at UK’s Bill Gatton Student Center. This exhibit celebrated the vibrant and eclectic histories told through clothing from LGBTQ Kentuckians.
INTERNSHIP APPLICATIONS OPEN
Applications are now open for a Collections Internship with FMA!
We are looking for a student or emerging professional interested in archives and collection processing. The selected intern will acquire valuable experience in handling archival objects, writing informative descriptions for collection guides, evaluating the strengths, gaps, and weaknesses of a collection, and helping share Kentucky’s LGBTQ history.
Application Due November 15.
COLLECTIONS SPOTLIGHT
A few weeks ago, FMA received these incredible photos by Jeff McKeehan of The Bar Complex on Halloween night, 1984 (40 years ago!) See any familiar faces? Jeff also shared with us the impact of these images...
"Gay bars have historically served as safe spaces for the LGBTQ community. But even in the late 70s, with the advent of Disco, our spaces began to be encroached by straight crowds who either appreciated our taste in music or wanted to get an eyeful of the “exotic” gays. (Or both!)
Halloween, in my opinion, was an opportunity for our community to not only get a little more “exotic” for our own pleasure, but to let the straight onlookers know that we were here, we were queer, and this was our turf, so behave.
I think to myself as I look at these photos: these people had no fear of being photographed. They were comfortable in their own skins, for the most part. Even ten years earlier, dressing up like this would have been done with some caution, and cameras would possibly have been banned, except in the hands of close acquaintances.
Two years after these photos were taken, I left Kentucky, only to return for family holidays and later, family funerals. Forty years have passed and I still have the fondest memories of living as an openly gay man in Lexington. My wish is that these photos will spark fond memories for others, and serve as a small testament that in 1984 we weren’t afraid to live and love openly."
- Jeff McKeehan
EXPLORE OUR NEW WEBSITE
We hope you are enjoying FMA's new and improved website!! Thanks to the work of BrandThread and a grant from the Mellon Foundation, we were able to complete a total overhaul of our website. Now, for the first time, we have a searchable collections database! While not a full digitization of our archive, this provides researchers a glimpse into the breadth of materials and stories that we hold.