Points of Pride

Nominated for the ACO Public Education and Engagement Award for the virtual exhibition revealing and celebrating sites of LGBTQ2S+ heritage in Hamilton

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Realized as a grassroots passion project by a group of four friends who grew up and came out together in Hamilton, Points of Pride is an evolving place-based digital resource designed to reveal and celebrate sites of LGBTQ2S+ heritage in Hamilton. Since it was launched in November 2021, in partnership with Hamilton Civic Museums, it has identified and conducted ongoing documentation of 32 LGBTQ2S+ heritage sites in the Hamilton area – with more to come – and begun a growing archive of oral history interviews with LGBTQ2S+ community members.

The project is a virtual multimedia exhibition that combines visual, audio and spatial components – such as interactive maps, audio interviews and blog posts. The exhibition is intended to incorporate LGBTQ2S+ experiences into Hamilton’s shared past, often previously invisible or actively erased, that intersect across race, class, gender, age and sexuality to make visible the spectrum of queer life in the city across generations and community boundaries. Through mapping and interviews, it shows a layer of the city’s social and cultural history that is not otherwise immediately visible to those outside of its immediate community.

The exhibition is intended to inspire LGBTQ2S+ Hamiltonians to embrace their curiosity about their history, connect with stories that resonate with and challenge them, and help Hamiltonians understand a more fulsome and inclusive story that tells a better, more rounded narrative about the city’s heritage.

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