News

OurStory Scotland archiving agreement signed with National Library of Scotland.

The OurStory Scotland Collection is a dispersed national collection of materials concerning the LGBT community in Scotland. In addition to the artworks and handwritten episodes archived at National Museums Scotland, and materials pertaining to OurStory Scotland as a Scottish Charity archived at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, in 2016 we signed an agreement with the National Library of Scotland to archive our collection of personal testimonies and oral history recordings in Archives and Manuscript Collections, and our video recordings in the Moving Image Archive.

OurStory Scotland recognised as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO)

OurStory Scotland has been a Scottish Charity since 2004, first as an unincorporated association, and from 2015 as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) approved the incorporation of OurStory Scotland as a SCIO on 3 March 2015. OurStory Scotland retains the same Scottish Charity number: SC035729.

Love Out of Bounds supported by grant from Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund

The Scottish Arts Council has awarded a grant of £10,000 to support Love Out of Bounds, a project run by the Village Storytelling Centre with OurStory Scotland. The project brings together a diverse range of participants, including people from minority ethnic groups, irrespective or gender and sexuality. Participants may be LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender), straight or undefined. Love Out of Bounds encourages people to tell their stories of having a love that may be rejected, or considered inappropriate, by their community, culture, family or faith. Storytelling workshops run throughout 2010 and will lead to exhibitions and further storytelling.

Grant awarded to OurStory Scotland from Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund

A major storytelling project, celebrating the personal and local histories of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Scotland , has received substantial backing from the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund. OurStory Scotland has been awarded over £20,000 to provide archiving resources, creative platforms and storytelling events throughout Scotland over 18 months from June 2005 to November 2006. Read the Press Release

Pride Scotia Award for Culture 2005

At an awards ceremony at Pride Scotia in Edinburgh on Saturday 25 June, the Jackie Forster Award for Culture 2005 was presented jointly to OurStory Scotland and Edinburgh 's Remember When project. Read the acceptance speech

Reception at Edinburgh Castle to mark LGBT History Month

February has been designated LGBT History Month.

A reception at Edinburgh Castle was held by the Minister for Communities on 22 February 2005. Invitations went out to people and organisations active in supporting LGBT people and recording our history. In his speech, the Minister made special mention of OurStory Scotland and the Remember When project as the two active organisations devoted to recording the oral history of the LGBT community in Scotland... read more

Grant awarded to OurStory Scotland from Communities Scotland

We have received a tremendous boost to our work with the award of a substantial grant of just under £10,000 from SCARF (Scottish Community Action Research Fund), which is administered by Communities Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Executive. This will enable us to buy professional equipment recommended by the British Library Sound Archive and to carry out our oral history work with LGBT people in diverse areas of Scotland, including communities that are distant from the large conurbations. The launch of this two year expansion of our activities took place on 4 November 2004 at the last night of our successful theatre project SexShunned, in which we worked with 7:84 Theatre Company to develop a dramatic presentation of stories emerging from oral history with the LGBT community in Scotland. The grant will enable us to continue theatre and exhibition work to reach a wider public, and will extend our collection of personal testimonies and oral histories for archive at National Museums Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. Read the press release