Leather Archives & Museum

11/29/2022

It's Giving Tuesday.....go ahead, we can take it! Load us up.
https://bit.ly/3FHOQLK
Or, Venmo

11/28/2022

Are you ready for Santa?

11/18/2022

We are a Ruth Arts grantee! Today, the Ruth Foundation for the Arts announces 140 arts organizations have been recognized by two new grants inspired by how artists live, make, and are remembered. We are honored to be among the Fall 2022 recipients. Thank you Ruth Foundation for the Arts !

These funds will help LA&M expand its arts programming to connect people with historic and contemporary kink art and artists from around the world.

Supported by the late Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, Ruth Arts launched earlier this year with a unique nomination process guided by 50+ artists, providing funding to nonprofit arts organizations nationwide.

11/13/2022

Join us today at 3pm for our next Kink Klass, Flogging 201. This class will focus on the Florentine technique of flogging. Everyone ages 18 and over is welcome!

11/09/2022

Update: apparently official word has gone out to confirm that the event tonight will not take place. I have not seen it so do not know any details. - Gary

Friends, it seems likely that tonight’s community forum is not going to happen due to a medical emergency. (Note that this isn’t an official post declaring that, but just an acknowledgement of all of the posts being made thus far.) If something official is posted we will share it here as well.

11/08/2022

Hi all. As many of you know, there is a community meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 7pm to confront the racist actions that happened at Touche last week. I want to be clear that LA&M is not in any way doing this in partnership with Touche. We were asked if our space is available. Community members deserve this opportunity to speak up and share their thoughts and we are happy to have space where this can happen. Apart from that, this is not our meeting, and I know nothing more than what everyone else knows about length, structure, logistics, etc.

I did reach out to ONYX Midwest to ask how we could be most helpful, and I have agreed to livestream the meeting so that others who are unable to be here can join. I will post the information about connecting to the event on the LA&M page on Wednesday afternoon. Please note that we also want people attending to feel comfortable speaking up. Thus in streaming it I will keep the camera focused on the stage at all times, so that audience members are not being filmed. If you are speaking, your voice will be heard in the stream, but you will not be seen and will not be identified unless you choose to do so.

Finally, it is important for you to know that there will likely be media attending the event as well. We will not allow them to film or record in the meeting, but you should at least be aware that they are in the room.

If there are other ways we can make you feel more comfortable being a part of this, please let me know.

(Adding an image just to help this post be seen)

11/08/2022

Our Response to Touche’s 45th Anniversary

Many thanks to ONYX Midwest for articulating a well thought out response to the recent racist actions at Touche. Join the community discussion on Wednesday at 7pm at LA&M.

ONYX Midwest would like to address what happened at Touche’s 45th Anniversary Party on 11/1/2022. Before doing so we would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all that have chosen to support our mission and to speak out on our behalf. We want you to know that your support was seen and felt ...

11/06/2022

Congratulations to our new Mr. International Rubber, Pusckatt Pumera Onyx!

11/03/2022

MIR26 begins today! There is still time to join in on the events. Check them out at Mr. International Rubber for details on registration, and a schedule of events. We hope to see you there!

10/28/2022

Don’t forget Sunday night’s Halloween Party! 6-10pm. Wear a costume if you like. Everyone over 18 is welcome!

10/23/2022

10/22/2022

Tonight’s the night! 7pm…..bourbon, treats and the opening of our newest exhibit curated by Anderson.

10/19/2022

Join us Saturday night from 7-9pm for the opening of our newest exhibit, The Eagle & Long Live Leather, curated by Leslie Anderson. Admission is free and open to every over 18. We will have drinks (courtesy of 2Bears Tavern Group) and ci**rs. BYO cigar, or purchase one from us!

10/16/2022

Today is the day! Join us at 3pm Sunday October 16th for the Chicago premier of this award-winning documentary. Get here early to get your tickets and a seat. The directors will be here as well, and will discuss the filmi following the screening.

10/06/2022

Leather Archives & Museum

Leather Archives & Museum

Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) is a library, museum and archive located on the North Side of Chicago. Our mission is to make leather, kink, B**M, and fe**sh accessible through research, preservation, education and community engagement.

08/03/2022

Saturday, August 13th…..get that car washed and have a filthy time doing it!

07/31/2022

A big thank you to the ladies of Elegant Fur for a fantastic evening of bearded drag, and for raising funds for LA&M! Be sure to catch their next show at Call Bar in November 5th!

07/21/2022

A Chicago museum in a former synagogue aims to demystify and destigmatize leather and kink subculture

Check out this great article about the importance of the archives.

The Leather Archives and Museum is a research library. The difference, said its director, is it’s perhaps “a little more exciting.”

07/20/2022

After 37 years, The Backstreet is no more. The iconic leather bar was the last of its kind in London. Anyone care to share a Backstreet memory below?

07/18/2022

The Leather Archives and Museum preserves leather and kink subculture

A nice collection of photos in the Chicago Tribune this week. Story to follow. A nice glimpse of some of the leather collections that are preserved here.

The Leather Archives and Museum on Chicago's North Side maintains and preserves materials relating to the history and development of the leather and kink subculture.

06/30/2022

LAM is thrilled to announce that we are amongst the first grantees of the newly launched Ruth Foundation for the Arts () – a new grantmaker dedicated to meeting the evolving needs and lived experiences of artists, communities, and arts organizations. Funding for arts organizations - especially those that collect and share works by marginalized artists - is critical to the preservation of our history. Read more about the Ruth Foundation for the Arts and their generous support for art organizations here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/arts/design/ruth-foundation-for-the-arts.html

06/29/2022

5 years gone from the physical world, but still with us in every way. Chuck Renslow left behind a legacy that includes International Mr. Leather, the Leather Archives & Museum, and most importantly thousands of family and friends who continue the great work and wisdom he inspired.

05/16/2022

This Sunday at 1:30pm.

05/14/2022

Thanks to our friends at JimSupport for their generous support of our IML Sling Raffle. Look for us at the vendor mart IML weekend and enter to win your own portable sling! JimSupport.com

05/04/2022

Shopleatherarchives.com and save 30% off all clearance items. Use coupon code springsale

04/13/2022

Congratulations to our newest Mr. Chicago Leather, George. Wishing you a great title year as you fill the big boots left by Butch Romero (thanks to Gary Lee for the great photo!)

04/03/2022

A huge thank you goes out to one of our favorite events, Sash Bash. Each year Papabear Rob Anderson creates a fun, educational, and s*xy weekend in Iowa City to raise funds for LAM. This year, the event raised $3500 to help us continue our work to preserve Leather and kink history! Many thanks to Rob and to everyone who attended. It was a lot of fun, and the donation is incredible. Thank you Rob Anderson !

02/13/2022

Join our exhibit tour with curator Leslie Anderson at 3:45pm central.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87831771303?pwd=RnFaK1lVdEFrbTk4UE9OaERKcVZ3QT09

Meeting ID: 878 3177 1303
Passcode: 234158

02/13/2022

Free admission today from 4-7pm. Come see our newest exhibit!

02/12/2022

Join us Sunday, 4-7pm!

01/20/2022

Save 40% off all clearance merchandise through Sunday, Jan 23rd. Use coupon code 2022clearance.
http://www.shopleatherarchives.com

12/23/2021

The hours from Dec 23 to Jan 1. Come by today to pick up your Christmas merch:

Thu 12/23, 11am-7pm
Fri-Sun 12/24-12/29, CLOSED
Thu 12/30, 11am-7pm
Fri 12/31, 11am-5pm
Sat 1/1, CLOSED
Sun 1/2, 1pm-5pm

12/10/2021

12/09/2021

11/08/2021

Quote from Dry Bones Breathe: Gay Men Creating Post-AIDS Identities and Cultures by Eric Rofes (1998). Photo by Zeus from Honcho Jul 1981. *xlib

[Among the most effective ways of oppressing a people is through the colonization of their bodies, the stigmatizing of their desires, and the repression of their erotic energies. Continuing work on s*xual liberation is crucial to social justice efforts.]

11/07/2021

Happy 44th anniversary to ! Touché opened in 1976 on 2825 N. Lincoln (pictured after the 1990 fire) and has been a leather bar since 1977. Touché is now located on 6412 N. Clark St, just one block from the .

11/07/2021

Congratulations to first runner up Jakob Rex, and the new Mister International Rubber 25 Joe Chicago Rubber! Mister International Rubber

11/06/2021

Celebrating Mistress Velvet & Black Domme Tradition: Exhibit Opening and Memorial Celebration 💜💜💜

Sunday November 7th
3pm-6pm at the Leather Archives & Museum

RSVP with

11/05/2021

Happy MIR25!! Mr. International Rubber weekend is happening here in Chicago, right now. Visit mirubber.com for details.

Personal ad and photo from Stiletto No 9 (1988) from the magazine collections.

11/05/2021

Quote from Caretaking in So Many Ways: A Conversation with Mistress Velvet, interview by Kirin Wachter-Grene in The Black Scholar Vol 50 No 2 (Summer 2020).

This Sunday, 3pm-6pm on November 7th, Heaux History is hosting an exhibit and memorial celebrating the life and work of Mistress Velvet at the . The celebration will also be streamed live on IG. RSVP with Heaux History on Instagram.

[Some of the most beautiful, safest spaces I encounter are in My B**M practice. Some of the most beautiful relationships I have are with My clients. I enter a bubble for an hour or two with my clients. We have mutual trust, respect, and are defining our boundaries together. Then I put on My street clothes, leave the dungeon, and enter the harsh world.]