FREE QUEER SCREENING
Date: Thursday 21 May 2026
Time: 8:15-10:15pm
Venue: @cinemacitynrw , St Andrews, Norwich
Man On His Mind: A Night With Eric Gibbins & The Buckfast Players
Experience four rare short films from the 1950s and 1960s by Cambridge-based gay amateur filmmaker Eric Gibbins, presented by the East Anglian Film Archive and Queer Norfolk.
Each film explores love, secrecy, and longing with striking tenderness, from the romantic and remarkable depiction of a gay relationship in Man On His Mind, to the covert struggle of unfulfilled and fleeting connections depicted through heterosexual affairs in the other three films. With the help of actors and crew from his theatre troupe, The Buckfast Players, Gibbins evokes the dreams of those living hidden lives in mid-century Britain.
These films were rediscovered through the Community Curating Project, a collaboration between Queer Norfolk and the East Anglian Film Archive with the support of the @britishfilminstitute Screen Heritage Fund, awarding #NationalLottery funding.
Screening includes an introduction and Q&A. It’s free but you must book your seats at picturehouses.com
*FREE QUEER SYMPOSIUM*
Date: Friday 8 May 2026
Time: 1:00–4:00pm (in person) or 1:00-3:00 (online)
Venue: Room 2.02, Julian Study Centre, University of East Anglia
Community Curating Symposium: People, Power and Activism in LGBTQ+ Contemporary Collecting
Overview
Explore how communities shape LGBTQ+ archives in an afternoon of talks on power, activism, and contemporary collecting. This event has two attendance options. Join us in person or online. Registration is now open.
What to expect
This symposium brings together members of the LGBTQ+ community interested in preserving their own histories, alongside queer heritage activists, and historic collections professionals. Over the course of this three‑hour event, delegates working both within and beyond heritage institutions will share their experiences of preserving LGBTQ+ memory and explore the theme of “People, Power and Activism in LGBTQ+ Contemporary Collecting.”
As part of the programme, we will screen a selection of recently uncovered films revealed through a project partnership between the East Anglian Film Archive (@eastanglianfilmarchive ) and Queer Norfolk. These films shed new light on queer histories and community life. The event will also see the launch of new guidance designed to support individuals and community groups in preserving LGBTQ+ moving image material outside of formal film archives, ensuring these stories remain accessible for future generations.
Admission
This event is free to attend, but spaces are limited. We recommend that you reserve a place in advance
@britishfilminstitute
happy transgender day of visibility!
this year, queer norfolk is celebrating by sharing some of the objects in our archive donated as part of the @museumoftransology national day of trans collecting, which aimed to highlight the importance of community archives to the preservation of trans history - locally and nationally. participants were invited to donate objects that celebrated their identities as transgender people, each accompanied by a handwritten label.
image 1: a well-used pot of lush shaving cream, slightly worn from years of use, photographed against a neutral background.
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image 2: a vibrant, impressionistic painting filled with bright colours, pride flags, and figures dancing in a crowd.
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image 3: a delicate pressed flower, flattened and preserved, with soft faded tones.
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image 4: the cover of wi life magazine featuring a smiling woman on the front.
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read the full blog on queernorfolk.com :)
these objects were originally displayed at the museum of transology’s national day of trans collecting exhibition. after their museum journey, they returned to local archives, where our archive volunteers have been hard at work digitising the collection, and thanks to their efforts you can view the full set of donated objects in our digital archive. which ones are your favourites? 👇
Exploring HIV/AIDS Graphic Design
with Siân Cook, creator of the HIV & AIDS Design Archive.
Sian Cook is a graphic designer, educator and the creator of the HIV/AIDS Graphic Communication Archive, a historic visual resource documenting the UK’s HIV and AIDS response. Her work reflects over three decades of involvement with voluntary organisations and explores how graphic communication shaped public understanding and health promotion around HIV/AIDS. In this talk she will examine the shifting strategies and audiences of HIV/AIDS design and offer insight into the archive and its role in design history and public health communication - in both the past and present.
Plus, explore local examples of Norfolk’s HIV/AIDS graphic design from the Norfolk Heritage Centre.
11am on Saturday 11th April 2026
Millennium Library, Second Floor
Ages 18+ | FREE
We're almost at the end of our workshops for the Community Curating project with @eastanglianfilmarchive . Don't miss the second to last session at Ancient House, Thetford for a unique chance to get involved and see a remarkable short film.
thanks so much for saying ‘hi’ to us at the forum! we raised over £400 to preserve queer heritage in Norfolk - and we’re 90% of the way to our goal of raising £2,500 to preserve the women on women banner! if you want to help us reach our goal, or volunteer your time to support local queer heritage, check out the links in our bio 💖
thanks so much to @queerfestnorwich for having us, and to all those who donated tombola prizes!
LGBTQ+ History Month: Community Curating with Queer Norfolk
February is LGBTQ+ History Month and we thought now would be a great time to update you on our Community Curating project partnership with Queer Norfolk. The project aims to promote the preservation of LGBTQ+ history by collaborating with community groups across Norfolk.
Since launching the project back in the Autumn, we have held workshops in Norwich and Great Yarmouth and have others planned in Kings Lynn and Thetford. At the workshops we have watched and discussed some films from our collection together and explored strategies for preserving queer heritage for the future.
We have also been looking at EAFA’s collection, and have found some wonderful material, including a collection of beautiful films made in the 1950s and 1960s by a gay filmmaker (image). Look out for further details of public screenings in the next EAFA Newsletters (link in bio) and posts.
It’s not too late to join us for the King’s Lynn and Thetford workshops! For more information and to register to attend, please contact us via the form (link in bio).
@queernorfolk@lgbtqhistorymonth #LGBTQIA #LGBTHistoryMonth #QueerHistory #VisibilityMatters
as lgbt history month draws to a close, we’re still thinking about queer threads that connect queer lives across norfolk and the world. cj from @nottsqueerhistoryarchive visit to norwich brought the hidden histories of nottingham to life. from queer venues to personal stories that resonated with us here in norwich, another small city with a bigger queer history than many think.
read the full blog to explore these shared queer pasts and why they matter. link in bio
#lgbthistorymonth #queerhistory #lgbtqheritage #oralhistory #queerstories
(Swipe for locations!)
Come learn about the LGBT history of Norwich in this bar crawl!
We will be going from Dorothy's and ending at The Loft, with Queer Norfolk giving a short talk at each location about its history!
This is an entirely free event, thanks to the wonderful people at @queernorfolk !
If you don't wish to go clubbing, you may take a bus home after the stop before at 11pm
Grab a ticket at the link in our bio, or here:
/events/8863/34173/
saint Barbara Ross OBE devoted her time to supporting trans people. as a social worker and community leader, her compassion supported hundreds of trans people in Norfolk, helping them understand themselves and be their true selves. her living room offered a sanctuary to trans women at a time when few had even heard the word ‘transgender’. she brought people together at @uniofeastanglia from the world over to explore the latest developments in trans health and social care.
👂listen on bbc sounds now - link in bio!
#norfolk #lgbthistory #lgbt #trans #transhistory
mark and david were self-made men. on the eve of the second world war, the brothers transitioned and went about their lives. Mark became a notable artist, while David stayed in his hometown Great Yarmouth and ran a popular bookshop for decades. while the brothers are covered in many viral videos, Emma chats to Rachel about exclusive discoveries that adds more depth to the ferrow brother’s story than previously known! looking through newspaper records available for free through Norfolk Library Service, and they discover a family trans story pre-dating the word ‘transgender’ itself.
c/w archaic language
👂listen on bbc sounds now - link in bio!
#norfolk #lgbthistory #lgbt #ferrowbrothers
