On 6 December 1985, the Schwules (Gay) Museum was founded in Berlin. In April 1986, the association rented two rooms at the Allgemeine Homosexuelle Arbeitsgemeinschaft (AHA) in Friedrichstraße 12. The first archive and library were set up – with only a few objects, but with the clear aim of collecting and making accessible materials on gay history, culture, and subculture.
On 12 May 1986, the association invited the public to a “foundation laying” on 17 May at the AHA Café “Eldorado.” Flyer and ticket for this event are our double find for the 40th anniversary. Admission was 5 DM and valid for two people. Buffet, tombola, disco, and show accompanied the opening.
For the opening party, guests were asked to contribute objects or photographs for an improvised exhibition on “friendship couples.” The same evening, the first donations were recorded: a carnival photograph for the archive and a copy of Cécile Beurdeley’s L’amour bleu, a standard work on homosexual love in art and literature, for the library.
Leaflet & Ticket (1986)
SMU, Archive