QUEER
CLUBBING
ARCHIVE
Lisbon Post-Pandemic Dancefloors
COLLECTING
ARCHIVING
RETELLING
LGBTQ+
CLUB CULTURE
Even archival material is imbued with power. Collect all forms of ephemera which make up a person's life. […] Resist talking about communities instead of with communities. Allow your archives to be ever growing, adapting and learning. Don’t just reflect powerful, visible people, but also those who are ordinary or under-represented.
Cat Kerr, Manifesto for Queering the Archive, 2024
This project proposes the creation of a digital design archive focused on Lisbon's queer nightlife context, with an emphasis on the post-pandemic period. This online space portrays the aesthetics of local clubbing culture through the collection, selection, compilation and organization of graphic and visual materials. These materials include posters, photographs and other forms of visual communication, both digital and printed, typical of these environments.
The website acts as a visual archive that facilitates the search and exploration of content organized by events, artists, dates and locations, giving space and visibility to the creators of the local queer scene. Its structure reflects this intention, based on a selection not of objects, but of the entities, collectives, projects and designers that give form, meaning, and dynamics to Lisbon’s nightlife.
In addition to its documental function, this project values and recognizes design as a means of political and cultural action, bringing together different communication approaches. It also reveals how dance floors can transcend the role of mere spaces for festive events, presenting alternative ways of inhabiting, caring for and celebrating community, identity and resistance.
Even archival material is imbued with power. Collect all forms of ephemera which make up a person's life. […] Resist talking about communities instead of with communities. Allow your archives to be ever growing, adapting and learning. Don’t just reflect powerful, visible people, but also those who are ordinary or under-represented.
Cat Kerr, Manifesto for Queering the Archive, 2024
COLLECTING
ARCHIVING
RETELLING
LGBTQ+
CLUB CULTURE
This project proposes the creation of a digital design archive focused on Lisbon's queer nightlife context, with an emphasis on the post-pandemic period. This online space portrays the aesthetics of local clubbing culture through the collection, selection, compilation and organization of graphic and visual materials. These materials include posters, photographs and other forms of visual communication, both digital and printed, typical of these environments.
The website acts as a visual archive that facilitates the search and exploration of content organized by events, artists, dates and locations, giving space and visibility to the creators of the local queer scene. Its structure reflects this intention, based on a selection not of objects, but of the entities, collectives, projects and designers that give form, meaning, and dynamics to Lisbon’s nightlife.
In addition to its documental function, this project values and recognizes design as a means of political and cultural action, bringing together different communication approaches. It also reveals how dance floors can transcend the role of mere spaces for festive events, presenting alternative ways of inhabiting, caring for and celebrating community, identity and resistance.
Afonso Horta