Linda Chernis

Linda Chernis is a South African archivist and heritage practitioner who has worked in museums and archives for the past 15 years. She has a passion for bringing history, heritage, and the arts to the public. Linda has worked as the archivist at the GALA Queer Archives in Johannesburg, South Africa, since 2015. She recently completed her master’s in History at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The GALA Queer Archive is a non-profit activist archive located in Johannesburg. Initially called the Gay & Lesbian Archives, was formed in 1997 in order to address the erasure and omission of queer lives and histories from public museums and archives in South Africa. The late 1990s was a time when South African museums, archives and heritage sites were being reconceptualised in the wake of our new democracy, and the drive behind GALA was to make sure that queer history, voices and lives were not left out of that movement. At GALA we describe ourselves as a catalyst for the production, preservation and sharing of queer history, culture and contemporary experiences in South Africa, and beyond. As an archive founded on principles of social justice and human rights, GALA works toward a greater awareness of the lives of LGBTIQ people as a means to an inclusive society. In addition to the archive program, GALA is also involved with research, exhibitions, youth work, public education programs, book publishing, film screenings, writing projects, conferences and dialogues. We use these methods and events to bring the archive to the public, as well as to build the archive through public contributions and engagement.