Queer Library Grand Opening
Queer Gym West,
Wagenaarstraat 336,
Amsterdam
On Saturday, May 24 at 4:00 PM, the Queer Library opens at the We Are Queer gym: a small library with big ambitions. The library, an initiative of the Queertopia Foundation, houses books from and about the LGBTQIA+ community: a variety of fiction, non-fiction, comic books, poetry collections, and photo books. The library is a volunteer initiative and is free to use, based on the motto ‘for and by the community’. Various queer icons will be guests at the grand opening, including darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven, boxer and WINQ Award winner Jay Muller, and Bibi Scholten van Aschat, owner of Boekhandel de Duif. After their speeches, there will be time for a conversation with the audience.
“It is important to recognize yourself in stories,” says Queer Library coordinator Marisa: “There is an enormous treasure trove of queer literature, from classics by James Baldwin to new bestsellers like Samantha Shannon. With the queer library, we make these freely accessible to LGBTQIA+ people.” Reading is also done collectively: the Queer Library organizes book clubs to discuss books together. The members of the We Are Queer gym have had a sneak peek and can already use the library. Many books have been donated by enthusiasts as well as publishers. Marisa has big ambitions for the Queer Library: “We are already bursting at the seams in this gym. We hope to have branches in various queer locations so that we can circulate books and reach even more queer readers with stories from their communities.”