Community projects
Haringey Vanguard - BAME LGBTQ+ Community Heritage Project
Haringey is proud to have a rich and varied LGBTQ+ history.
Haringey Vanguard was a project that ran between 2018 to 2021 that explored the exciting history of the borough’s LGBTQ+ BAME community between the 1970s and 1990s.
Led by Veronica McKenzie, the instigator of the project and the Community Engagement Officer, the project was developed to encourage people to creatively engage with and be inspired by archives and collections. It involved people who were in Haringey during the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and they very kindly gave interviews and helped the project collect personal photographs and memorabilia. The project also offered volunteers training in research, how to collect oral histories, and special workshops for community groups and people interested in BAME LGBTQ+ heritage.
Haringey Vanguard was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and was delivered as a partnership heritage project between Haringey Archive and Museum Service and London Metropolitan Archives.
The project culminated in a celebratory online launch in February 2021 of the new website full of resources and showcasing some of the archives collected (external link) alongside the exhibition 'We Have Always Been Here' at Bruce Castle Museum. You can watch the film of the talks and launch online here (external link).
If you are interested in exploring and researching more in the collections of the Haringey Vanguard Archive, please do get in touch with the Archives Department at Bruce Castle Museum to book your appointment in the Search Room:Archives and Local History
