Sept. 1, 2023
The Making of "A Queer Map"
We talk to artist August Clintberg about the making of The Calgary Atlas Project's Guide to the LGBTQ+ History of Calgary
A Queer Map is a retelling of an old story. Lovingly curated, the history of Calgary’s LGBTQ+ community is relayed on the footprint of our city. From Club Carousel through to modern ephemera, this tour through history covers a broad swath of Calgary’s under-documented LGBTQ+ community hubs and sources of resistance in a sometimes-inhospitable Sandstone city.
Drawing on the historical research of the Calgary Gay History Project of Kevin Allen and Mark Clintberg, this map explores the places and faces of Calgary’s LGBTQ+ history, its scenes, bars, community, and organisations, and the efforts made by LGBTQ+ activists to raise awareness through initiatives like Blue Jeans Day. The histories told are uniquely Calgarian, but also paradigmatic of many similar cities across western Canada.
The strong sense of community, resistance, collaboration and pride which emerges from this trip down memory lane, continues to characterize Calgary’s LGBTQ+ community to this day. Find a local distributor near you or email a request to cih@ucalgary.ca.
About the Calgary Atlas Project
The Calgary Atlas Project seeks to recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that illuminate in surprising ways the character and diversity of the city. Forgotten or overlooked stories from Calgary’s history are mapped onto the city’s geography, highlighting significant sites, events, and people in Calgary’s past.