Here We Will Be is twofold: first, it is an archival and spatial research on queer stories, spaces and venues, both existing and past, and their importance in shaping neighbourhoods and urban centres. The research will focus on cities in Canada and from all around the world, exploring the cultural, architectural and urban impacts of queer-owned spaces and events through time.
An important part of the project is field research, as a way to document queer stories and spaces by experiencing them in person and allowing personal impressions and interactions to complement archival documentation.
This research will, in turn, provide the framework for a novel, at the intersection of fiction and creative nonfiction, documenting the immaterial memory and the informal history of queer venues, events and communities through storytelling, as a way to reclaim memories and spaces that have been lost and preserve the ones that still exist. It’s important to mention that my goal is not to use the stories gathered during the research directly, but rather to get a sense of why certain spaces, venues, neighbourhoods, cities are important queer “landmarks” in our informal histories and communities.
I am particularly invested in exploring how the built environment has the capacity to retain immaterial memory; how buildings, neighbourhoods, cities are more than the sum of their parts, more than what is visible. I like to think that we exist in a quantum rather than a linearity; that all that there was and all that will be also coexists with what currently is. I am especially fascinated by the way queer spaces — and by extension queer stories and history — have shaped cities, and still continue to do so long after they disappear.
This project is very personal to me, for many reasons. As a queer person who came out in the 2000s, many of the spaces that played a huge part in my coming of age, in forging my community, in finding my chosen family, no longer exist. Many of them had a deep and rich history embedded in their walls, of all the memories, stories, glories of the queer people who passed through them, who existed there, in a continuity of ephemeral moments; the queer people who came before me, who paved the way for me to get to where I am, who helped me feel like I belonged somewhere.
GOAL
Although I am interested in studying the history of various cities, my primary goal is to document histories rather than “History”, and most importantly, I want to document queer joy, queer love, queer lives in all their messy, beautiful complexity. So many queer stories in media focus on our tragedies, hardships, pain and grief, and though these are important stories to tell, I also want to see more stories about queer delight, fun, elation, stories about our thirst to live and to experience everything, brash love stories, wild late-night adventures, happy celebrations, moments of beautiful connection, caring communities — and especially pure, unabashed queer joy.
I want to immerse myself in all the silly, powerful, mundane stories of love and heartbreak that feel larger than life, but are really only larger than us. I want to document the undocumentable, tell the untellable, and connect with queer people from all around the world to create an incomplete, imperfect, subjective database about our communities, our spaces, and how powerful and life-changing queer joy and love, in all their forms, can be.
SUBMITTING A STORY
This is why I am asking you to submit stories, memorable events, memories, defining moments that have shaped you as a person and in your queerness through the following form or by email (herewewillbe@gmail.com). If you are in any city I’m visiting or planning to visit, we can also meet in person and/or you can pose for a photo, which will become part of the visual portion of this archive.
Although I want to create an incomplete, subjective archive of queer stories from around the world, my goal is not to use any of these stories verbatim, but rather to be inspired by them, as I research the queer history of various cities and spaces. I am fascinated by the history that doesn’t make it into the history books, the one that we live through every day, the mundane and personal stories that shape us as human beings, and especially as queer people. I am particularly interested in memories that are closely intertwined with a physical place, park, street, building, neighbourhood, city, as vectors and anchors of remembrance.
Your submissions can be as short or as long as you want, preferably in English, French or Spanish. They don’t have to be perfect (actually quite the opposite!), you don’t have to be a writer or use perfect grammar, and you can use whatever format feels comfortable for you (even point form if you want!). A small symbolic stipend (paid through Paypal) will be offered to any contributors upon review of submissions.
Thank you so much for your help! If you have any questions or want to know more about who I am and what this project will be, you can contact me via Instragram (@herewewillbe) or email (herewewillbe@gmail.com).
INSPIRATION
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I’ve always been deeply fascinated by the community-generated platform called Queering The Map (https://www.queeringthemap.com/). Though the overarching goal of Here We Will Be is quite different from Queering The Map, it’s definitely a huge part of what inspired me to start this research and writing project, and I felt like it was important to acknowledge!
Here We Will Be 