Art made with the assistance of AI will not be considered for accession. It does not meet the ethos or mission of the archive.
As an organization founded on principles of transparency, we aim to make our collection acquisition process as open as possible. Our goal is to preserve materials that are significant to the trans community while prioritizing ephemera that is too often overlooked in formal archival collections. However, this does not include AI based images, videos, etc.
Thank you!
Attending Trans Pride DC (@transpridewashingtondc ) next Saturday, May 16, 2026? 🏳️⚧️ We’re looking for 3 more volunteers to table with us at the community fair for 2 to 6.5-hour shifts from 9:30 am to 4 pm! It’s a great way to meet people and make friends. Volunteers will be provided with full tabling instructions (and full appreciation) for the event. DM or email us if you’re interested.
We will also be accepting donations at the fair! Bring your books, zines, and other historical items for preservation. We already have a large number of items from the DC and Baltimore and are excited to expand our DMV area collection with your help.
This week, we acquired three rare c. 1960s prints by Red Jordan Arobateau (1943-2021). Arobateau was a prolific Black trans artist, author, playwright, poet, and activist. He first became involved in the queer and trans community as a teenager in the 1950s, quickly establishing himself as a major figure in the lesbian movement. After moving from New York City to San Francisco in the late 1960s, he began distributing his writings in lesbian bars, keeping his work “street oriented” (his terms). He transitioned in the 1990s and started advocating for increased access to trans healthcare. During his lifetime, Arobateau published dozens of books, hundreds of poems, and over 60 paintings (some are available online through our friends at @transchair ). We are excited to be in the process of acquiring several of Arobateau books, too.
While the NYC Trans Archives emphasizes making our community’s history more accessible, our work also includes preservation. These are three of Arobateau’s few remaining 1960s prints. Only a few of each were ever printed. After taking these photos, we will begin the physical preservation process, adding the prints to our trans artist collection in acid-free, temperature-controlled archival storage. We want to ensure future generations of trans people can see Arobateau’s work.
Come to NYCTA’s May cataloging day and help us add more items to our website! No experience is needed. This month, we’ll dive into a trove of over 300 books, periodicals, and zines going back to the 1700s. Plus, we’ll catalog collections from trans organizations, activists, and artists from 5 different countries. We will be rotating venues, days, and times for future cataloging events, so we hope to see you at one of them soon!
We’re also accepting donations during this day, so feel free to drop in, grab some snacks, and say hi!
The New York City Trans Archives is a new, independent, community-based archive dedicated to trans liberation and social justice. We are expanding our collections and asking for donations from the community.
Ephemera of interest include (but are not limited to):
-Photography, films, & multimedia art
-Creative writing (zines, poetry, memoirs, etc)
-Flyers, posters, and signs
-News articles, magazines, etc.
Please feel free to email or DM us:
[email protected]
transarchives.org/acquisitions
SHARE THIS FLYER PLEASE
#nyctransarchives #transhistory #queerhistory
Chavelier d’Eon (Charlotte d’Éon de Beaumont) was a renowned spy, soldier, diplomat, and trans woman born in 1728. If you’re not already familiar with her, her narrative is an incredible tale of adventure and honor spanning several decades. She was even recognized as a woman by King Louis XVI!
We recently acquired a rare copy of this 1930 French literary magazine featuring an essay on d’Eon’s life. It tells us more about French society’s understanding of gender identity during the inter-war period. We are excited to digitize it for the first time this summer!
We are looking for...STUFF!
The New York City Trans Archives is a new, independent, community-based archive dedicated to trans liberation and social justice. We are expanding our collections and asking for donations from the community.
Ephemera of interest include (but are not limited to):
-Photography, films, & multimedia art
-Creative writing (zines, poetry, memoirs, etc)
-Flyers, posters, and signs
-News articles, magazines, etc.
PLEASE SHARE THIS FLYER!
And feel free to email or DM us:
[email protected]
transarchives.org/acquisitions
#transarchives #nyctransarchives #transhistory #queerhistory #nychistory
Help grow the collection!
The New York City Trans Archives is a new, independent, community-based archive dedicated to trans liberation and social justice. We are expanding our collections and asking for donations from the community.
Ephemera of interest include (but are not limited to):
-Photography, films, & multimedia art
-Creative writing (zines, poetry, memoirs, etc)
-Flyers, posters, and signs
-News articles, magazines, etc.
Please feel free to email or DM us:
[email protected]
transarchives.org/acquisitions
#transarchives #nyctransarchives #transhistory #queerhistory #nychistory
We had our first cataloging day last night, and we're thrilled to share that it was a huge success! A big thank you to everyone who braved the below-freezing weather to help us organize our materials. We have hundreds more items to sort, and we'll be announcing our next cataloging day very soon! After that, we'll open our catalog to the public so everyone can preview our collection.
Thanks to the support of @softxprince , we just received the last copy of their beautifully illustrated t4t cowboy zine, Even Cowboys Fall in Love (plus some 🏳️⚧️🤠🏳️⚧️ stickers!). You can read it, along with hundreds of other trans zines, when the NYC Trans Archives begins holding open hours early next year. Hope to see you there - and don’t forget to support your local Black trans artists while you wait!
