Swiss Gay Archives
Our Goal
The Swiss Gay Archives Association was founded in 1993 with the aim to collect records of gay history and make them available to the interested public.
In the meantime, we have succeeded in compiling the largest collection of queer association archives, journals, bequests, photos, audio recordings, videos and diaries in Switzerland. The Swiss Gay Archives is continuing to collect and is grateful for information on materials that illustrate gay history. We are happy to advise associations and individuals who have gay testimonies and would like to preserve them for posterity.
Our Board
Präsident
Dr. Kevin Heiniger
Historiker. Postdoc an der FHNW zu Fürsorgeregimen, Fremdplatzierung und Sozialstaatlichkeit.
Sekretär
Beat Frischknecht
Autor von Aufsätzen zur schweizerischen Schwulenbewegung. Präsident Verein Pro Elisarion.
Kassier
René Hornung
Freelance Journalist. Co-Redaktor «anderschume / Kontiki», der Vorgängerzeitschrift von «Display».
Vorstandsmitglied
Dr. Franco Battel
Historiker und Journalist. 1993 eines der Gründungsmitglieder des Schwulenarchivs Schweiz.
Vorstandsmitglied
Thomas Bürgisser
Freier Journalist und Texter
Vorstandsmitglied
Dr. Philipp Hofstetter
Historiker, Archivar, Autor. Vorstandsmitglied von QueerSearch, dem Dachverband queerer Sammlungen im deutschsprachigen Raum.
Vorstandsmitglied
Ernst Ostertag
Heilpädagoge. Verfasser der Website schwulengeschichte.ch. Seit 1954 in Homosexuellen-Organisationen tätig.
Vorstandsmitglied
Dr. Rolf Thalmann
Ehemaliger Leiter der Basler Plakatsammlung. Beschäftigt sich mit der schwulen Geschichte der Schweiz.
Vorstandsmitglied
Dr. Luca Tori
Stellvertretender Chefkurator am Schweizerischen Nationalmuseum
Vorstandsmitglied
Tobias Urech
Historiker, Doktorand, Dragqueen Mona Gamie
Vorstandsmitglied
Dr. Heinz J. Zumbühl
Gymnasiallehrer, Universitätsprofessor. Passionierter Sammler von schwuler Kunst und Fotografie.
Our Activities
Every year, all members are invited to meet for the Annual General Assembly, each time at a different location in Switzerland. In addition to a rich agenda, food and drink, we report on our activities of the past year. We exhibit newly acquired holdings and inform you about new publications and those being created. We share the minutes with all interested parties.
Our Partners
We work closely with the Swiss Social Archives in Zurich to ensure that the archival materials we collect are as easy and uncomplicated to use as possible. Our collection is housed there and is accessible to those interested. The archive is responsible for the proper cataloguing and storage of the materials. The close co-operation also has the advantage that connections and links with other social movements become visible.
In 2009, the "Heinrich Hössli Foundation for Homosexuality in Culture and History" was founded. The collected documents have been and will continue to be transferred to it. This makes sure that the collection will be preserved for the future.
We work closely with QueerSearch, the umbrella organisation of German-speaking queer archives, libraries and collections, and with Pro Elisarion, the association for the preservation of Elisàr von Kupffer's artistic legacy, on various projects. The website schwulengeschichte.ch provides extensive information on many documents.