Intergenerational Dialogues
Intergenerational Dialogues
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While research has documented the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth and elders, this project seeks to draw on the assets of these communities to teach and learn from one another. At its heart, this project looks to activate the educational potential of intergenerational dialogues in transmitting and preserving the rich and complicated histories of sexual and gender minorities.
As part of the research component of this project, we have documented over 110 (and counting!) intergenerational dialogues using photography, audio and video technologies, and ethnographic note-taking. Documentation has been challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have relied primarily on Zoom recordings and email conversations. As we work through and continue to add to our documentation archives, we will add photographs, video clips, and other materials here.
Senior and youth participants of The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project celebrate their reunion after over a year of meeting over Zoom
We're better when we're together
After moving to virtual meetings at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dialogues Project is slowly beginning to meet in person again.
View the photos and videos from our August 2021 in person meeting by clicking the gallery button below.
View the gallery of photos and videos from our August 2021 in person meeting at Center on Addison below.
The group gathers on the patio of Center on Halsted for the first in person meeting of the year, August 2021
Members since 2019, Don Bell and Lawson. View the Participants page to read their profiles.
The group gathers on the patio of Center on Halsted for the first in person meeting of the year, August 2021
The group gets to know some new faces
Conversation is at the heart of what we do in The Dialogues Project
In Person Meeting, August 2021
A meal among chosen family on the veranda
In Person Meeting August 2021
Members Danie and Taylor meeting in person after several months of getting to know each other virtually
In Person Meeting, August 2021
Marti, member since 2019, gets to know new member Amy
Fun at the bar post the In Person Meeting, August 2021
Fun at the bar post the In Person Meeting, August 2021
In Person Dialogues
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, participants in the Intergenerational LGBTQ+ Dialogue Project met in person at the Center on Addison at Center on Halsted every other week to share stories, perspectives on topics we find important to LGBTQ+ culture and history, and hopes for the future. Each meeting concluded with a shared “family dinner.” We were thrilled to return to in-person dialogues in 2022!
To view the gallery, use the arrows provided or click on the image to enlarge.
Virtual Meetings
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been meeting over Zoom for the safety of all participants. This has enabled some of our recent alumni to continue to join us from their disparate locations. In Fall 2020, the project expanded into a class offered through The School of the Art Institute of Chicago that met weekly over Zoom and welcomed 16 new young and older participants. The ability to connect more often and immediately during such a tumultuous time has allowed for the project to evolve in new and surprising ways.
Click on any of the photos below to enlarge the image and view the gallery.
Check out what we've been working on
In addition to our group meetings, we work together and individually on various projects inspired by our discussions.
To read our writing, watch video clips, and more, visit our Projects page.