Client News: Canadian Lesbian And Gay Archives Celebrates 40th Anniversary With New Inductees To National Portrait Collection

TORONTO, ON (April 3, 2013) – On May 3, 2013, The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (CLGA) will celebrate their 40th anniversary by welcoming Richard Hudler and Rupert Raj into the organization’s National Portrait Collection for significant individual contributions to the LGBTQ+ community.

Hosted by ProudFM’s Pearse Murray, this event will provide context for the inductees’ contributions through personal letters, newspaper reports, and newly recovered manuscripts. Through artistic installations in the CLGA gallery, attendees will be provided the opportunity to explore the trailblazing work of Hudler and Raj.

Robert Windrum, President of the CLGA said, “We’re thrilled to be celebrating our 40th year of keeping LGBTQ+ stories alive. The National Portrait Collection will provide an excellent opportunity to look back on significant moments that have helped define our important and growing histories.”

The National Portrait Collection was established in 1998 with 25 original portraits and coincided with the CLGA’s 25th anniversary. Past inductees include singer k.d. lang, LGBTQ+ activist George Hislop, Canadian Armed Forces activist Michelle Douglas, and many others.

The inductee ceremony and exhibit opens on May 3, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. with a wine and cheese reception. The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives is located at 34 Isabella Street in Toronto.

About Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives:

Established in 1973, The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives aids in the recovery and preservation of LGBT histories. Its mission: to acquire, preserve, organize, and give public access to information and materials in any medium, by and about LGBT people, primarily produced in or concerning Canada. To support this function, the Archives also maintain significant non-archival collections, which include a research library, international subject files, and an international collection of queer periodicals. It is the CLGA’s mandate to make this information available to the public for education and research. Over the years, the CLGA has helped hundreds of people – students, artists, journalists, lawyers, filmmakers complete numerous projects inside and outside of the LGBT community.

Website: http://www.clga.ca
Tumblr: everyday queer archive
Twitter: @CLGArchives
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CLGArchives

About Richard Hudler:

Born in 1942, Richard Hudler is a social worker and an activist who has been working tirelessly to advocate for gay and lesbian rights since immigrating to Canada in 1971.

In 1980 Hudler joined the board of HALO, and starting in 1981, became the long serving board president. He represented HALO through the Project Guardian scandal with the local police, and in 1995 Hudler filed an official complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission against London Mayor Diane Haskett when she refused to issue a Gay Pride Proclamation.

Hudler continues his activism through Queer Ontario, a provincial network of individuals — and their allies committed to questioning, challenging, and reforming the laws, institutional practices, and social norms that regulate queer people.

About Rupert Raj:

Born in 1952, Rupert Raj is a Eurasian counsellor/psychotherapist, clinical researcher, educator, lecturer, writer, editor, activist and Gender Specialist. He is a trailblazing activist who has been paving the way to improve life chances for trans people across Canada and around the world since 1971, the year before his own transition.

During the ‘70s and ‘80s, Mr. Raj established and operated three transsexual organizations: Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transsexuals (FACT), Metamorphosis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF), and GenderWorker. Concurrently, he also edited and published three TS periodicals: Gender Review,
Metamorphosis Newsletter/Metamorphosis Magazine and GenderNetworker.

In 1999, Rupert co-founded a peer-support group for transmen and female-to-males (part of the Meal-Trans Program at the 519 Community Centre), as well as a support group for transpeople who use or have used alcohol and/or drugs.

Currently Mr. Raj works at the Sherbourne Health Centre as an LGBT Mental Health Counsellor and maintains his own private practice, RR CONSULTING.

For Media Inquiries and Photos Contact:

Cory Stewart
Embrace Disruption PR
647.638.1586
cory@embracedisruption.com

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