The newly formed organization, LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert, announces that it will hold its Inaugural Exhibition, Sharing Our Desert’s LGBTQ+ History, during the November Pride celebration. An official event of Palm Springs Pride, the exhibition will be at the Welwood Murray Memorial Library in downtown Palm Springs, located at 100 S. Palm Canyon Drive. The exhibit will be FREE and open to the public during the following times:
• Thursday, November 4 from 6-8 p.m.
• Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6 from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Sunday, November 7 from 12 – 5:30 p.m.
As one of the best-known LGBTQ+ locations in the world, the exhibition is designed as a chronological history of events, organizations, and individuals to highlight the history of the greater Palm Springs area that has made it such a welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community.
Trying to answer the question of why were gays & lesbians drawn here to the greater Palm Springs area; was it for the beauty, weather, isolation, or the tendency to live and let live? So many questions and so few answers, at least in any one place from any one source!
So, an organization was born. Feeling that much of the history of when and how this came about was unknown or lost; a small group of individuals formed The LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert in 2019. “When it became obvious that the LGBTQ+ history of the Palm Springs area was not very well documented and even being lost,” says David Gray, Co-Founder, “I knew something needed to be done to preserve our local LGBTQ+ history for future generations.”
Working with the Palm Springs Public Library and the Palm Springs Historical Society, we are working ‘to collect, preserve and make accessible the LGBTQ+ History of the Greater Palm Springs Area within the Coachella Valley’, says Gray. Currently we are focusing on documenting and preserving that history, and sharing it with LGBTQ+ individuals, organizations, allies, and the public.
Still in its infancy, The LGBTQ+ History & Archives of the Desert is currently looking for documents and memorabilia from bars, inns, restaurants, publications, LGBT organizations, and individuals. Should you have any LGBTQ+ treasures in your garage, attic, closet or storage area and would like to donate them, please contact the organization by email at lgbtqpshistory@gmail.com. You can also follow them on Facebook @lgbtqpshistory.
