A series of workshops that brought younger and older LGBTQ+ people together to explore the experiences of LGBTQ+ people across the generations, discovering how things have changed over the years and the things that continue to bond the LGBTQ+ community regardless of age or background.
National Portrait Gallery Interviews
Edinburgh, April 2003
In 2023 LGBT Youth Scotland celebrated 20 years as a charity. To celebrate, we invited seven LGBTQ+ people of all ages from across Scotland along to the National Portrait Gallery for a day where they could interview each other on camera, exploring what it means to be an LGBTQ+ person in Scotland. Each person reflected on their past, celebrated their life now, and shared their hopes and dreams to make Scotland a better place for people in the future.
Kayleigh & Cara
Richy & Finn
Jaime & Kayleigh
Kate & Jade
Past, Present & Proud
Half hour film, National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, April 23
Lavender Menace
National Library of Scotland, October 23
The founders Sigrid Nielsen and Bob Orr, and the young volunteers at the Lavender Menace Archive joined an intergenerational workshop at the National Library of Scotland as part of the (Un)seen, (Un)heard project. We asked the group to talk about the origin of Lavender Menace, what they are doing with the archive today, and what they hope will happen in the future.
Founder Sigrid said: “Thank you so much for organising this workshop- we are often together in a room, but most days we speak about how to tag a particular book, or where that copy of Truman Capote has gone…this interview gave us a chance to speak about our feelings towards the archive and towards each other. This is something that may never have happened otherwise, and we are grateful to have a deeper understanding of each other and our shared vision for the Lavender Menace archive.”
You are Loved
Emma, Highland Pride 2023.
Illustrations by Seán Casey, design by Chris Newton.
Continue Their Fight
Jamie S, Online Submission.
Illustrations by Seán Casey, design by Chris Newton.
You Are Gonna Change The World
Jade, Past Present and Proud, 2023.
Illustrations by Seán Casey, design by Chris Newton..
Share your story
This exhibition is an organic thing – an accessible archive space where you can tell or show us what life is like for you. You are so welcome here and we’d love you to feel a part of what we are doing.
If you are a young person living in Scotland now, or if you grew up in Scotland, we’d love to hear from you. Add your story to our archive by using our submission portal here.
Our Partners
National Lottery Heritage Fund
National Library of Scotland
