GALA Mission Statement
The advancement, development and rights of LGBTI people depend on an accurate record and representation of their struggles. GALA mobilises memory by documenting and popularizing the lives and histories of LGBTI South Africans. In so doing it contributes to the development of pride, challenges homophobia and entrenches the rights of LGBTI people.
GALA Office and Archive Hours
Monday to Friday
9 am - 5 pm
Community Library Hours
Tuesday 1 – 4
Saturday 2 – 4:30
Contact Us
+27 11 717 4239
Fax: +27 11 717 1783
info@gala.co.za
GALA is a member of the Joint Working Group (JWG), a national network of LGTBI focused organisations in South Africa.
PHOTO GALLERIES
Click on the images below or go to Photo Galleries to view photographs of GALA events and images from our archival collections.
As a community archive, GALA is open to anyone interested in finding out more about South Africa's gay and lesbian past. We collect a wide range of documentary material, artifacts and oral sources that detail social, political, legal, cultural and religious aspects of lesbian and gay life. Our collections include records of organizations as well as of individuals; media coverage; legal records; oral history interviews; photographs; letters; personal mementos and any other relevant documents or objects that individuals have donate to the archives. Although we do have some material of international scope, our focus is mainly on South Africa and to a lesser extent its neighbours.
Why do we need LGBT archives? | Using the archives | Archive location | Donate
“Without queer history there is no queer pride!” We need archives to preserve the history of LGBT people, organisations and communities in Africa. The archives also represent an educational resource that can be used to promote greater understanding.
| The archives are open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. If you require assistance in the archives, we request that you schedule an appointment so we may accommodate you. Please contact Anthony Manion at anthony.manion@wits.ac.za. |  |
In order to preserve our holdings as long as possible, our archival documents and other materials are handled and stored with great care. Materials in our archives do not circulate but must be examined on site, at the Historical Papers reading room at the William Cullen Library (directions below). A full time GALA archivist is on hand to discuss your needs and help you use our finding aids to locate items you wish to see. The archivist will bring these items to the reading room for your viewing. You can freely take notes with pencil and paper or use the reading-room photocopier, which will be charged at the going rate.
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For a brief overview of our collections, please check out our at-a-glance Guide to Resources (file will open as a PDF document), which includes brief descriptions of our collections. GALA is also fortunate enough to have 60% of our archival material indexed on the Wits Historical Papers website. To see this index, please visit their site here. |
Also, for samples of the kinds of documents and photos you might find in out archives (or for an interesting glimpse into the past), check out our Historical Documents page.
Our archives are located in the Historical Papers Department, William Cullen Library, University of the Witwatersrand, East Campus, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
The William Cullen Library is no. 36 on the map below. Pedestrians should use the pedestrian entrance to the University in Jorissen Street, while motorists should use the Yale Street entrance. Call the archivist on 011-717-1963 if lost.
Donate materials to the Archives
The Archives are sustained by donations from people like you. If you have any material that you feel are relevant to the history of LGBTQIA people and would like to donate and have preserved for future generations, please Contact Us. We are also very interested in recording your stories, so if you're interesting in telling yours, we would love to hear it. We will make all the arrangements for collection. We will discuss with you any restrictions you may want to place on how your collection gets used and draw up a formal contract.
