Since Stonewall Contest sponsored by OutHistory.org

This looks very cool. I’d love to do a history of stuff in Detroit, but I fear I don’t have time.

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OutHistory.org Extends Deadline for Since Stonewall Local Histories Contest!

OutHistory.org has extended the deadline for creating online exhibits on the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer histories of villages, towns, counties, cities, or states in the U.S. since June 1969.

To enter the contest simply create and finalize an exhibit about a local LGBTQ community by March 31, 2010. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, OutHistory.org will award five prizes from $1,000 to $5,000 for the best online exhibits. A panel of judges, convened by OutHistory.org will assess the exhibits and OutHistory.org will announce the top five exhibits on June 28, 2010. In fall of 2010, OutHistory.org will host an event showcasing the winning exhibits.

Jonathan Ned Katz, OutHistory.org's Director, expects this contest "to draw attention to LGBTQ histories of places and communities outside of major cities, as well as in major metropolitan areas." OutHistory.org users have already created exhibits about the histories of LGBTQ life in places such as Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Columbia, South Carolina and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Lauren Gutterman, OutHistory.org Coordinator, hopes the site will "receive at least one submission from every state," but there is no limit on the number of entries per state, village, town, county, or city.

This contest is supported by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City of New York Graduate Center and funded by a generous grant from the Arcus Foundation.
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The Since Stonewall Contest invites you to create an exhibit about LGBTQ history in your local community over the last 40 years, and post it on OutHistory.org. Any logged-in user can create and edit entries on OutHistory.org. To be eligible for this contest, all you have to do is begin your exhibit by June 28, 2009 .

Timeline:

- First drafts of exhibits must be posted by the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots on June 28, 2009.

- Revised exhibits must be completed by March 31, 2010.

- OutHistory will announce the top five exhibits on June 28, 2010.

Requirements:

- Your exhibit must have a title that includes the village, town, city, or county, and the state and a time frame. Although we prefer that exhibits span the entire 40 year period, we will accept exhibits that begin after 1969. For example: “Detroit, MI: Forging New Lives Since Stonewall, 1984-2009.”

- Your exhibit must have a main entry page that will list all the additional pages in your exhibit. For an example of such a main page listing on OutHistory.org see: http://www.outhistory.org/wiki/Sample_Exhibit

- Every page must fully and clearly cite all sources using the Chicago Manual of Style Guide.

- To help OutHistory users find subjects of interest, every page in your exhibit must have subject categories listed at the very bottom of each entry page. These categories might include: “Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, AIDS, Parenting, Aging, Activism.”

- Every entry page in your exhibit must have a synopsis. For example: “This page discusses how the HIV/AIDS epidemic affected gay life in Chicago, IL.”

- Every entry page in your exhibit must have specified time-span. For example, “August 1981–July 1992.”

- Every exhibit must have a contact person. You can post a contact person’s name and e-mail address on your page, or send it to outhistory@gc.cuny.edu.

Suggestions:

- Please take this contest as an opportunity to collaborate with archivists, students, activists and others in your local community. We welcome collaboratively-created exhibit entries.

- There are multiple ways to structure a local history exhibit. Consider which structure would work best for the story you want to tell. You could, for example, base your 40-year exhibit around a few individuals’ life stories, notable local events, or specific organizations or places in your community . You could document how different groups of people have experienced the last forty years differently.

- Find a wide array of sources on which to base your exhibit: newspaper articles, interviews, diaries, letters, artwork, personal photographs, maps, audio recordings, etc.

- Find historical documents and objects at LGBTQ archives, local historical societies, or libraries.

A listing of LGBTQ archives across the country can be found here: http://www.archivists.org/saagroups/lagar/guide/index.html

- Try to make exhibits as dynamic as possible – include images, video and audio clips whenever possible. See OutHistory “Help” pages for instruction about how to do so.

- Try to design your exhibit so that a broad audience of internet users can understand and learn from it.

- Please include a chonological timeline of events so that the history you are telling is clear.

Please contact the Project Coordinator at outhistory@gc.cuny.edu with any additional questions.