Exploring the Queer Archive

CJ DeBarra (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, Irish journalist and author based in Nottingham. They are the author of Neuroqueer, a neurodivergent guide to love, sex and everything in between, as well as the founder of the Notts Queer History Archive.

The Notts Queer History archive was founded in 2022 as an oral history project to document the lives of Nottingham’s LGBT+ community from 1960 to 2025. Led by CJ De Barra, the project has involved over 174 interviews with people from all corners of the LGBT+ spectrum, covering several decades of lived experiences. These interviews and extensive archival research are being compiled into three books covering 1790 to 2020. The first book, Queer Nottingham 1960-1990, was released in August 2025.

Shaun Wallace (he/him) created a social enterprise, Arc of Triumph in 2018, to continue his work in the field of UK Afrodiasporan arts and heritage legacy, and contribute to digital and physical conversations, surrounding Queer Black and People of Colour in the UK. Recent projects include ‘Three Camden Stories’ a celebratory reflection on the untold lives of three interwar black gay men for Camden Black History Season 2023, and Archiving/ances.try an online platform commemorating hidden histories.

Sandro Weilenmann is an art historian and critic. Currently, he is a Junior Fellow at the Walter-Benjamin-Kolleg at the University of Bern. From 2023-2025, he was a post-doctoral researcher for the ‘Perverse Collections: Mapping Europe’s Trans and Queer Archives’ project (PERCOL). His research interests include archival art and contemporary voice studies. He has curated exhibitions such as Blooming Archive at IHLIA Amsterdam and Annemie Lieder at Kunsthaus Zug.

Cesare Cuzzola (he/him) is a Research Associate at the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), University of Leicester and current Project Coordinator of the Queer Heritage and Collections Network. Cesare completed a PhD at the School of Museum Studies (University of Leicester) and his doctoral research focuses on the role of collections in socially engaged museum practice. His academic background is in anthropology with a specific focus on material culture studies.

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