About this Archive

Administrative/Biographical History

Mel Reeve is an archivist and writer living in Glasgow. She started the Bi History project several years ago after working in archives and heritage, and realising there was a real lack of information about bisexual+ history. Her initial goal was to do research and share it on social media (@bihistory), and she assumed that she would find plenty of examples of bisexual+ archive collections in the UK. Mel ended up discovering that there was a real gap in the preservation of bisexual+ histories and decided to use the platform she'd developed on social media to create an archive collection of bisexual+ history.

Mel's work offers education and advice about how archives work to encourage people to feel confident donating or doing their own archiving of their activism and lives. The collection was also used for a series of workshops, and it was an amazing opportunity to see how impactful engaging with bisexual+ history can be for bisexual+ individuals. For many of the attendees this was the first time they'd ever seen their community's history being valued and discussed. Mel decided to donate the collection to the Bishopsgate institute because she wanted more people to be able to access and use the collection, because being able to engage with records of your community can have a tangible impact on feeling more confident and comfortable in your own identity.

Scope and Content

Flyers, zines, leaflets, booklets, journals, t-shirts, bunting, badges, postcards and banner celebrating bisexuality, pansexuality, queerness and the Bi History Project, [1986-2021].