In the face of continuous discrimination and marginalization of LGBTQ+ lives and erasure of queer histories, a local Boston community archive was born. Boston queer individuals and communities wanted their history and their lives preserved for future generations, but they knew they could not rely on larger local institutions to do that work – they had to do it themselves. In 1980, a small group of volunteers founded the Boston Area Lesbian and Gay History Project, known outwardly as The History Project. 46 years later, this group has become one of the nation’s largest independent LGBTQ+ archives, growing not only in the size of its archives, but into a new identity – Queer History Boston.
Queer History Boston ensures the histories of Boston’s LGBTQ+ lives, relationships, and stories are preserved and celebrated, reclaiming the past while ensuring Boston’s queer history is never erased. The organization remained entirely volunteer-run until 2020, when Joan Ilacqua became QHB’s first Executive Director. Now as of 2026, the team has grown to three, including Matisse DuPont, QHB’s Director of Engagement and Advancement, as well as a full-time archivist, Mik Hamilton.
When the organization was founded, volunteers chose to operate under the neutral name of The History Project as a form of protection. They were able to gain nonprofit status and operate under a non-outwardly presenting queer name, allowing them to move about the nonprofit sector with less fear of discrimination and attacks. In 2025, the organization went through a full rebrand, emerging as Queer History Boston. “From a safety perspective in the 1980s [the name] makes complete sense. But we’re in a different time and place, and we’re looking to be much more out and clear about who we are, what we do, and who we serve,” Matisse shared.
Armed with a new design kit built to reference 90s queer zine, button, and flyer activist movements, and a clear, local, name, Queer History Boston hit the ground running last year to make sure the city of Boston knew about this decades-old organization. They celebrated their rebrand last October during LGBTQ History Month with an exhibit in the heart of Harvard Square, entitled ‘Cambridge: It’s always been a little queer.’ Thousands of Bostonians saw their exhibit, which felt like the perfect representation of Queer History Boston’s new era of being publicly seen, explicitly queer, and centered in local history.
In 2025, the organization reached over 2000 people via their events and programming, which span from museum pop-up exhibits to author talks and film screenings to community-building events. QHB worked with over fifty other local organizations in the past year to promote queer history on larger scales and make the Boston LGBTQ+ feel seen and represented throughout the whole city. Their archival materials and work have been featured all across Boston, including by The Boston Public Library, the Mayor’s Office, and Historic New England, as well as at the national and international level in their collaborations with other community-driven history projects and organizations.
“It is important to us to work closely with local aligned organizations, both to foster solidarity and challenge systematic oppression, but also to ensure that our work reaches community members, activists, and organizations who seek to understand and use our history to take action,” stated Matisse. Alongside their growing collaborative efforts, Queer History Boston’s volunteer committees have been revitalized and continue to grow, keeping the organization’s community-run history alive.
As Boston heads into Pride Month, the organization has a full docket of exhibits, celebrations, and presentations. Throughout June 2026, they can be found at the Museum of African American History, the West End Museum, the Gibson House Museum, tabling at Pride celebrations across the city, including Boston’s annual Pride for the People festival, and at their physical archives in Back Bay, where they will be busy giving tours all month.
Alongside that, the team is gearing up for their annual award show: The Living Archive Honors, taking place on Saturday, September 26th. This year they will be honoring five awardees, consisting of local advocates, artists, and activists who prioritize local LGBTQ+ history and work to protect and uplift queer communities across Boston, and the whole commonwealth of Massachusetts. “We’re an archive and we document things. [The awards show is] proof right now… we’re doing the act of documenting in front of you… we’re doing our mission in front of you currently… Look at these important people who are now in the archive” Matisse remarked. The awards show is not only to have a chance to celebrate their wonderful awardees, but to have a platform to show that queer history is still being made each day.
The tradition of community archiving, which dates back to 1970s era grassroots liberations movements, remains incredibly important in our modern age. To this day, there are extensive gaps and distortions in the ways that LGBTQ+ communities are represented not just in history, but in the media and in everyday conversations. Through their work each day, Queer History Boston works to ensure that the lives and work of queer Bostonians will not only be preserved but be celebrated.
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Current needs at Queer History Boston include new volunteers and members on their Public History, Archives Advisory, and Archives Working Group Committees, as well as support and attendance at their upcoming events and exhibits. Community nominations for their upcoming Living Archive Honors show are open now through June 8, 2026. To learn more about their work, visit their website here or reach out to their team at info@queerhistoryboston.org. To see more pieces of Boston’s Queer History, visit their Instagram, or take a look through the digital QHB archives.
