Image Credit: Flare as ‘Buck Off’ at Pope Joan’s, c. late 1990s. Photo by Tania Anderson. 

The past few months have been a busy and meaningful period at the Collaboratory — one that brings both reflection and forward momentum. As one major project is publicly recognized, another is just beginning to take shape. 

We’re honoured to share that the Pussy Palace Oral History Project has been named a 2026 Allan Bérubé Prize winner by the LGBTQ+ History Association. The prize recognizes outstanding public or community-based work in LGBTQ+ history, and we’re deeply grateful to see this project — and the communities behind it — acknowledged in this way. 

Launched in 2021 and concluding in 2025, the project documents the rise, culture, and legacy of Toronto’s preeminent queer women’s and trans bathhouse, including the September 2000 police raid that marked the last major raid of a queer bathhouse in Canadian history. The prize committee highlighted the project’s digital exhibit in particular, noting how it invites visitors into the sensory and affective worlds of the Palace through oral history. 

This recognition belongs not only to the Collab, but to the narrators who shared their stories, to our partners at The ArQuives, and to everyone who brought care, creativity, and trust to the work. We accept it in the spirit of Allan Bérubé’s legacy: history that is accountable to community, grounded in lived experience, and committed to social justice. 

At the same time, we’re turning our attention toward what’s next. The Drag Kings Oral History Project is now entering its narrator recruitment phase, marking the beginning of a new chapter in our work documenting queer cultural histories that are often under-archived or at risk of loss. 

In recent weeks, the project team has been laying the groundwork for interviews, with an emphasis on ethical practice, transparency, and participant care. Our pilot interview with project collaborator and longtime drag king producer, performer, and documentarian Clare Smyth (aka Flare) has just taken place, with additional interviews to follow as recruitment continues. 

Alongside this preparation, the Collab has been doing supporting research to better understand the broader archival landscape around drag king histories — including born-digital materials and moving image records from the 1990s and early 2000s. This work helps situate the interviews within a wider cultural and archival context, and ensures that what we collect now can be responsibly stewarded into the future. 

Together, these moments — recognition for past work and preparation for what’s ahead — reflect the Collab’s ongoing commitment to community-engaged, justice-oriented public history. We’re excited to keep building, and to share more as this next project unfolds.