CHICAGO, August 26th, 2016 — Nestled amid a residential/business corridor of Rogers Park in Chicago, the Leather Archives & Museum—an arguably unique, off-the-beaten-path museum—is preparing to celebrate its work of preserving leather/fetish/BDSM/kink history this fall, when the museum will host its 25th Anniversary Weekend, September 16th to 18th. Admission for all programs/events will be free and open to the public.
Plans for the museum's 25th Anniversary Weekend include: numerous receptions; educational programming; a premiere screening of the documentary film "By The People: 25 Years of Community Archiving at Leather Archives & Museum" directed by Christina Court; a Q&A with educator, activist, author, psychotherapist and IML 1989 Guy Baldwin; an invitation-only banquet dinner; after parties; and, of course, tours of the museum itself.
Seating—except for reserved seating for sponsors and those who previously registered—will be on a first come, first-served basis for events at the museum. Donations to the museum will be gladly accepted, as donations go to supporting ongoing programming at the LA&M. Saturday night's banquet dinner is by invitation-only. Museum admission for events is 18+; events taking place at Touche, 21+ only.
25th Anniversary Weekend Schedule www.leatherarchives.org/anniversary/schedule.html .
Started in 1991 by Chuck Renslow, the Leather Archives & Museum was originally located at 5007 N. Clark Street. The museum later moved to 6418 N. Greenview Avenue in 1999, where it has operated ever since. LA&M has been repeatedly named to popular offbeat tourist destination lists ( Chicagoist, RoadTrippers, WBEZ-FM NPR and more ), and it acts as a community hub for adult programming throughout the year, welcoming locals and tourists alike.
"I never thought when Tony DeBlase and I started the LA&M, it would have such great community support," says Renslow, who is the current President of the museum's Board of Directors. "Before the Leather Archives & Museum, most of our history was going into dumpsters. Now our history is being saved worldwide."
LA&M Executive Director Rick Storer agrees, adding, "Celebrating 25 Years of leather history is really a testament to the leather/BDSM/kink/fetish community's passion for their history. They recognize the importance of keeping their legacy safe and want to make sure it's available to the world."
The Leather Archives & Museum houses artifacts, art, clothing, research materials and historical exhibits devoted to leather/BDSM/kink/fetish communities across a wide spectrum. A non-lending library is on-site, offering non-fiction, fiction, pulp fiction, art books, comic books/graphic novels and more. LA&M's facility also includes a 164-seat auditorium which is used for public/private events and educational/entertainment programs. As part of the museum's outreach and programming, LA&M hosts events ranging from scholarly lectures to kinky/foreign film festivals, and the museum offers the auditorium to local community groups for use throughout the year.
"The LA&M is a grassroots institution," says Storer. "2016 signifies 25 years of people coming together behind a cause. The Leather Archives celebrates this year because thousands of people have said, 'My history and my legacy is important to me'...and then did something about it."
Working to preserve that legacy is Jakob VanLammeren, LA&M's Archivist/Collections Librarian. VanLammeren says, "Celebrating 25 years of leather history at the LA&M means community members, museum visitors, researchers, and scholars alike can experience the primary source materials that document how leather communities have radicalized sexuality throughout history." The museum's archived materials—not normally on public display—are made available, by appointment, to researchers and scholars visiting the LA&M.
Above all, the Leather Archives & Museum provides a unique, safe space in which visitors can learn about the history and societal context of Leather/kink/BDSM/fetish communities. That the LA&M provides such a space for the community is important, says Board of Directors Vice President and volunteer Christina Court. "Its archives, library, museum and traveling exhibits serve as a reminder that we have not only existed for quite some time, but that we continue to thrive, evolve, and celebrate with pride who we are as individuals and sexual beings."
Sponsors for the 25th Anniversary Weekend include: Centaur MC; Chicago Hellfire Club; CLAW; Drummer North America; Full Kit Gear; Great Lakes Leather Alliance; Leather 64Ten ; Philly Leather Pride Night; One Web Company; and Touche Chicago.
For more information on the Leather Archives & Museum's 25th Anniversary Weekend schedule, please visit www.leatherarchives.org/anniversary/ .
ABOUT LA&M
The Leather Archives & Museum is dedicated to the compilation, preservation, and maintenance of leather, kink, and fetish lifestyles. Our museum galleries serve to present educational and historical material to an adult audience. Our reading library and archives serve to support researchers and community members in accessing materials and documentation relevant to the history and culture of leather. LA&M is located at 6418 N. Greenview Avenue in the Rogers Park/Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. For more information on the museum, please visit www.leatherarchives.org .
Scheudle
Friday, September 16th
7:00 PM 10:30 PM World Premiere, Leather Archives documentary
By The People : 25 Years of Community Archiving at the Leather Archives & Museum Doors at 7pm, program at 8:30pm. Join the LA&M to kickoff a weekend anniversary celebration and be the first to see the new documentary about the Leather Archives & Museum. Q&A with filmmaker, Chuck Renslow and Rick Storer following the screening. Leather Archives & Museum
10:30 PM 12:30 AM After party
Celebration continues at Touche! VIP package includes open bar and Joseph Bean meet and greet until 12am. Touche
10:30 PM 12:00 AM Film screening at LA&M
Celebration also continues at LA&M with a film screening. Kink Crusaders a Produced By Mike Skiff & Wayne Mac Leather Archives & Museum
Saturday, September 17th
9:00 AM 12:00 PM Inside the Archives Breakfast served from 9am to 11am
Join Jakob VanLammeren and the Archives staff for a behind the scenes look at leather history collections that are not currently on display. See materials from MC clubs, IML, IMsL, MIR, Sailor Sid, Jan Hall, David Grieger and others that you have not seen before. Tours will be conducted on the hour and on the half hour beginning at 9am. The last tour will begin at 11am
2:00 PM 3:30 PM Guy Baldwin at the LA&M
Doors open 1:30PM: Join educator, activist, author, psychotherapist and IML 1989 Guy Baldwin at the Leather Archives & Museum during the museum's 25th Anniversary celebration This Q&A format presentation will touch numerous topics from leather history to M/s. Mr. Baldwin will field questions from the audience.
8:00 PM 10:30 PM Official Anniversary Celebration
Doors open at 7:30pm. The official celebration for the LA&M's 25th Anniversary! Hear from Chuck Renslow, Gayle Rubin, Rick Storer, Jakob VanLammeren and enjoy a Leather and kinky version of Jeopardy. Hosted desserts and cordials to help ring in the next 25 Years of Leather History! Leather Archives & Museum
10:30 PM 12:30 AM After party
Celebration continues at Touche! VIP package includes open bar until 12am. Touche
10:30 PM 12:00 AM Film screening at LA&M
Celebration also continues at LA&M with a film screening. Age of Consent a film by Charles Lum & Todd Verow. Leather Archives & Museum
The Leather Archives & Museum 25th Anniversary Weekend will feature Gayle Rubin as a special guest.
Gayle Rubin was on the very first Board of Directors of the Leather Archives & Museum. She is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The Leather Archives & Museum 25th Anniversary Weekend will feature Guy Baldwin as a special guest.
Guy Baldwin is a prolific author, accomplished educator and noted speaker. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction related to BDSM, including a monthly column (1986—1993) in Drummer magazine that was compiled in his book, "Ties that Bind". Baldwin is also the author of "The Leather Contest Guide: A Handbook for Promoters, Contestants, Judges and Titleholders" and "SlaveCraft: Roadmaps for Erotic Servitude—Principles, Skills and Tools"
Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear from Guy Baldwin in Chicago! His forty-five years of experience and service in the world of leathersex, M/s and SM have made Guy Baldwin a very honored leatherman. In 1989, separate judging panels selected him first as Mr. National Leather Association and then as the 11th International Mr. Leather. He is still the only man ever to have held the titles concurrently, and takes pride in his long relationship both with IML, the event, and with its producer, Chuck Renslow. In 2000 the Leather Archives & Museum gave Guy the accolade "Centurion," naming him one of the twenty most important contributors to leather/BDSM in the 20th Century.
