Creating the Assembling Queer Displacement Archive

Abstract

The Assembling Queer Displacement Archive (AQDA) is a PhD by creative work and a pioneering initiative designed to challenge dominant narratives surrounding displacement experiences and shed light on the silenced stories of LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced individuals. Rooted in the amalgamation of professional expertise and personal lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ forced displacement, this project leverages the collective wisdom of individuals who have embarked on similar journeys. Embracing the transformative potential of lived experiences, AQDA introduces valuable insights with broader implications for archival practices. AQDA is conceived as an experimentally born, queer digital archive of oral histories about LGBTIQ+ forced displacement, marking the inaugural attempt to capture and preserve this specific phenomenon. Beyond its archival function, AQDA is a political act of survival.

AQDA comprises of oral histories from LGBTIQ+ individuals who had sought refuge, asylum, or migrated from non-Western countries and were over 18 years old. Narrators contributed their narratives through interviews, which were recorded in audio or video formats. Additional considerations for the protection of narrators' privacy and safety were in place.

AQDA strives to present oral histories with sensitivity and respect through the incorporation of a "generous interface", a concept inspired by Whitelaw (2015). The development of AQDA is guided by the Feminist Standpoint Appraisal methodology, which explicitly values records created and preserved by individuals and communities oppressed by capitalism, white supremacy, and heteropatriarchy (Caswell, 2021). It also draws inspiration from Jamie Ann Lee's Queer/ed Archival Methodology (2015), emphasising reflexivity, flexibility, and attentiveness as mechanisms to challenge established archival norms. In doing so, AQDA represents a significant milestone as it seeks to safeguard the narratives of LGBTIQ+ individuals subjected to forced migration for the first time. Show more