Mark Frazier

During his 25-plus years in the Leather arena, Mark Frazier has been an activist, player, judge, producer of events/contests and an educator (where he has given over 1600 workshops). He has held various local, regional and International leather titles, and he has sat on numerous local, regional, national and international boards. Mark has been acknowledged with many awards and accolades over the years. He is a long-term member of NCSF, NLA-International, NLA-Dallas, Discipline Corps and an Associate Member of CHC. Mark currently owns and operates the Dallas Eagle and is the Executive Producer of the International LeatherSir, Leatherboy and Community Bootblack contests.

Lori Cannon

Cannon was among the earliest volunteers for Chicago House. Her maternal instincts, her totally irreverent sense of humor, and her high-energy approach to everything put her at the center of everyday life at the agency’s first community residence for PWAs. She helped to plan the weekly “family meal,” the regular Thursday-night dinner that was intended by the residents to include volunteers, staff, and other individuals visiting the site. She also assisted residents in completing routine tasks that had, for many, become a challenge; these included shopping, laundry, and personal care. She called on her numerous friends, acquaintances, and business associates, scheduling hair stylists and planning recreational outings “for the boys,” “borrowing” a school bus from time to time as the situation warranted.

Dave Rhodes

A fireside chat with founder and publisher of The Leather Journal Dave Rhodes.

Victor Salvo

Filmed on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at Center on Halsted in Chicago, IL. The Legacy Walk is an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people. According to its website, it is “the world’s only outdoor museum walk and youth education program dedicated to combating anti-gay bullying by celebrating LGBT contributions to history.” It is the world’s largest collection of such monuments. It is located in Chicago, Illinois.

Sandy “Mama” Reinhardt

Sandy “Mama” Reinhardt is a leader in the leather, BDSM and LGBT communities. She claims she has been a leader for many years and very active in the fundraising arena for most of those, including her annual Breast Cancer Dinners, LeatherWalk (for the AIDS Emergency Fund & the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund) which kicks off Leather Pride Week leading up to the Folsom Street Fair and Toy Drive for Camp Sunburst, a program for children and families affected living with HIV/AIDS. Based in the San Francisco / Bay Area she has devoted her life to helping others by networking and organizing community activists for short-term and ongoing campaigns.

Mary Elizabeth Boyd

Mary Elizabeth also known as the First Lady of Leather is interviewed in front of a live audience at CLAW in Cleveland, OH in 2011

Chuck Renslow

Ask just about any Leatherman or leatherwoman you meet who Chuck Renslow is, and you’ll get an answer right away. Here are some of the answers: He was the founder in 1950 and photographer of Kris Studios, one of the earliest and most durable of the physique houses (and the one where leather always had a place). He was also a noted photographer of the Ballet. His dance photography is now in the Newberry Library dance collection In the “Chuck Renslow Dance Photographs” collection. He opened the first leather bar, the Gold Coast in Chicago, in 1958. He was the publisher of Triumph, Mars and Rawhide Male magazines. He was a founder of Second City Motorcycle Club, the first club not on the West coast, in 1965. He was the founder of many bars and sex clubs since the 1960s, including Mans Country, which has survived for more than 40 years. He was among the earliest member, often among the founders, of many gay liberation organizations and movements. He has sat on the Board of fourteen different LGBT organizations. He was the founder of Prairie State Democratic Club in 1980. He was the former owner of the Chicago Eagle.

Mufasa Ali

From the LA&M Fireside Chats interview of ONYX founder, Mufasa at Center on Halsted January 28, 2015.

William “rubberwilli” Schendel

Mr. International Rubber 2003 – William “rubberwilli” Schendel Co- Owner & Chief Operating Officer MIR Contest, LLC

Joey McDonald

Joey McDonald’s community service dates back to 1974, when the Chicago native joined the U.S. Navy. As an out and proud gay sailor, he spent six years on active duty helping to break down his fellow crew members’ stereotypical attitudes toward gay men. While on active-duty leave in Chicago in 1979, McDonald volunteered as a greeter at the first International Mr. Leather (IML) contest. What started as a serendipitous moment would lead to volunteer work that has consumed a large part of his life.

Master Alex Keppeler

Master Alex Keppeler is the Director Emeritus of MAsT International (Masters And slaves Together), a non-profit education, support and resource group for people living or desiring to live in the Master/slave lifestyle and a division of Butchmanns, Inc. During his tenure as head of MAsT, the organization has more than quadrupled the number of its active local Chapters and has gone international. Prior to assuming control of MAsT in 2000 and for many years after, Master Alex was the Webmaster for MAsT and for many of its local MAsT Chapters. Master Alex heads Household Keppeler, a residential community of gay leathermen living in Jackson, Michigan. His leather family, which has existed continuously since 1996, currently includes two live-in 24/7 slaveboys, one of whom has served the House- hold since 1997, and an external submissive. Master Alex has served as a judge at numerous Master/slave con- tests and a variety of leather contests. He has also been a work- shop presenter at many Master/slave and leather events. Master Alex is active in the Midwest leather community and is regularly involved with leather clubs and bars in Detroit and Chicago. He is an associate member of the Chicago Hellfire Club, ICON Detroit and Trident Windy City. He is also an active member of Detroit’s gay square dance club, the Cadillac Squares. Master Alex, the father of two children from a prior marriage, is 68. He is retired from Consumers Energy Company in Jackson for whom he continues to work part-time as a contract computer systems administrator and employee benefits consultant.

Leather Legacies is a four month series of engaging conversation and presentation between Leather Archives & Museum Executive Director, Gary Wadsin, and various community stakeholder.  These sessions began during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and take place via video conferencing. Each session includes a guest speaker, and an opportunity for Q&A.

The LA&M has proudly partnered with the Titans of the Midwest and Kink U to bring you online education opportunities. Four international Bootblacks host a seven week educational series on the care of various leather goods.  This series was produced during the Covid-19 global pandemic and occurred via video conferencing software.

In episode 1, Bootblack Bella provides an introduction to the tools needed for a basic kit, and where to find supplies in local stores and online.

In episode 2, Kinky Irish Cowboy offers a review of the basic kit supplies and addresses the basics on how to do a basic combat boot. He talks about laces and storage concerns such as dust, and answers audience questions.

Episode 3 features IMBB 2015 Bamm Bamm, reviewing basic kit items and techniques for cleaning clothing, including pants, chaps, belts and shirts as well as tips on proper storage.

Episode 4 features Alistair (he/him, trans masc) a UK bootblack who lives in rural West Wales on the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast. Alistair’s grandfather introduced him to the concept of caring for your boots when he was young, and his father taught him to spitshine Royal Navy style.

Bella joins us again in Episode 5 for Handbag Ballin’ with Bella, addressing the specific needs of care of leather handbags and purses.

Episode 6 of this Bootblack Series features Kinky Irish Cowboy offering a review of basics. He also talks about the specifics of suede and sneakers.

In Episode 7, Alistair returns to teach the care of leather floggers.

Drawing Tending Tying: An Art and Rope Experiment

In Drawing Tending Tying: An Art and Rope Experiment, all are welcome to witness as two queer lovers come together to experiment where art meets kink. Watch Shel create a set of gesture study life drawings of their partner Sharon while she uses rope to self-tie. This performance was performed live on March 19, 2022 at the Leather Archives & Museum and streamed on Zoom.

Shel Stefan (they) is an Associate Professor of Visual Arts in the School of Creative Arts at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV). Shel is a Chicago-born, nonbinary, queer artist who teaches all levels of university painting, drawing, and figure studies. Shel has exhibited their queer-themed artwork in Italy, China, Canada, and the US and now resides, paints, and draws on Stó:lō territory in rural BC, Canada.

Sharon Pink (she) is a LeatherFemme witch who loves rope, ritual, poetry and magic. She is a Portuguese / Polish settler living on Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh territory (aka Vancouver Canada). Sharon is passionate about learning in community, which often shows up as her organizing, facilitating and priestessing workshops, classes and rituals.
www.sharonishere.com

Special thanks to the volunteers who helped make this production possible.

Transcript

Shel Stefan: Welcome to the Leather Archives & Museum. It’s truly an honor and privilege to be here with my partner Sharon Pink and to record our art performance here. I’d like to first start with saying just a few brief words and then we’ll begin the art performance. I want to acknowledge the traditional territories and lands that we are privileged to be in today here at the Leather Archives & Museum: the original, traditional territory of the Bodéwadmik, Ho-Chunk, Otoe, Missouria, Iowas, Menominee, Meskwaki, Sauk, Miami, Wea, Piankashaw, Kickapoo, Illini, Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. And we are here in gratitude to be in this big city that once looked very, very different. [To Sharon] A few words?

Sharon Pink: I can’t actually see with this light on me. I know there’s people there – which is kind of a relief actually. So my name is Sharon. I live in Vancouver, Canada which is Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil- Waututh territory. I’m just really grateful to be here. I’m not a person who’s used to being on a stage so this is a new experience, so I feel very humbled by it and just really grateful to be here doing this experiment with Shel. We hope that this is interesting and offers you something right now. I think that the world is and has been a very hard place, and I think that this is for Shel their life-long practice of drawing and art and doing this very important practice of rope, and it feels really special to be able to share it. [To Sharon] This is also [unknown] by Chicagoans important to you… ?

Shel Stefan: Well I was born outside of the city and so it’s like so special to come back in this capacity and, you know, to be at the Leather Archives & Museum feels like a coming home for me and I’m so grateful to be here. What will happen over the next, I guess, hour or two is music and drawing. I won’t be talking, we’ll just be here in practice and please make yourselves comfortable to come and go wherever you are in the world or here in the space in Chicago. It’s an experiment and we’ll see what happens and I hope that you enjoy the time. My name is Shel Stefan and it’s a pleasure to meet you and see you all. So, I think we’re going to begin?

Sharon: Yeah.

Shel: Okay, let’s do this.

Join us on the 2nd Tuesday each month, from 7-9pm. This is a studio drawing class where you can practice your figure drawing skills individually. We’ll provide the sexy fetish models, tables and chairs……you provide whatever materials you want to use for drawing.

This program is available both in-person and online. If attending online, you will receive the zoom link prior to the event after registering.

There is a $10 fee to help us pay our models. You can pay online at https://the-leather-archives-and-museum.networkforgood.com/events/54670-2023-fek-draw or with Venmo (@LeatherArchives) You may also pay cash at the door if you prefer.

Please try to be on time so as not to interrupt the model or the other artists. Doors open at 6:30pm for each session.

Click here to email us for details!

March-December, 2023, the Leather Archives & Museum celebrates non-normative intimacy and art
with a new monthly screening series, Fetish Film Forum.

Purchase Tickets Here

View Trailer Here

Perspectives on fetish, kink, leather, and BDSM are as numerous as the people in these communities, and the ten erotic films in this series, spanning nine countries and six decades, explore various points of view on the
sexual practice and art of fetish and kink, bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism. Cinema is a fetish for the moving image, a form of roleplay for the actors, and an experience of
voyeurism for the viewer, and Fetish Film Forum celebrates the power of film to realize humanity’s innermost desires.

Screenings include Secretary (2002), a whimsical comedy-drama about a woman who discovers the joys of submission; Belle de Jour (1967), starring Catherine Deneuve
as a housewife who uses sex work to explore her sexual fantasies; Pleasure (2021), the story of a young woman who travels from Sweden to Los Angeles in search of porn stardom;
Querelle (1982), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s spectacular adaptation of the novel by Jean Genet; Shortbus (2006), an empowering whirlwind of polyamory by the director of
Hedwig and the Angry Inch; In the Realm of the Senses (1976), an erotic art film inspired by the true story of geisha and sex worker Sada Abe;
Cruising (1980), William Friedkin’s controversial slasher about a killer who targets gay men in NYC; Hellraiser (1987), Clive Barker’s horror classic involving
leather-clad beings who relish suffering; The Handmaiden (2016), a twisty erotic thriller by internationally acclaimed director Park Chan-wook; and
Cristiana: Devil Nun (1972), a campy nunsploitation romp for the holidays.

Be the first to answer our trivia questions in the introductions to these screenings, and win a fantastic pornographic film on Blu-ray, courtesy of

Altered Innocence

, or other treasures!

All screenings will be introduced by local film programmer John McDevitt, and they’ll be joined by numerous guest co-presenters throughout the year. Stay after the shows for free post-screening discussions to share your
thoughts about these extraordinary films!

This series was programmed by John McDevitt in cooperation with the Leather Archives & Museum. John is a lifelong cinephile who currently works as Community Engagement Manager at FACETS, the non-profit film
organization in Chicago’s Lincoln Park.

TICKETING

Single Ticket: $10/General, or $8/LA&M Members & Students
5-Film Pass: $40/General, or $35/LA&M Members & Students

Purchase your Single Tickets or 5-Film Pass here

Must be 18 years of age or older.

SERIES FILMS

Secretary (2002) – Saturday, March 18 @ 7pm

Directed by Steven Shainberg, USA, 107 mins

Belle de Jour (1967) – Saturday, April 15 @ 7pm

Directed by Luis Buñuel, France, 101 mins

Pleasure (2021) – Saturday, May 20 @ 7pm

Directed by Ninja Thyberg, Sweden, 105 mins

Querelle (1982) – Saturday, June 17 @ 7pm

 

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany, 108 mins

Co-presented by Foul Monkeys Podcast

Shortbus (2006) – Saturday, July 15 @ 7pm

 

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell, Canada, 101 mins

Co-presented by Pride Film Fest

In the Realm of the Senses (1976) – Saturday, August 19 @ 7pm

 

Directed by Nagisa Ōshima, Japan, 108 mins
Co-presented by Asian Pop-Up Cinema

Cruising (1980) – Saturday, September 16 @ 7pm

 

Directed by William Friedkin, USA, 102 mins

Co-presented by Stephanie Sack of Giallo Gelato

Hellraiser (1987) – Saturday, October 21 @ 7pm

 

Directed by Clive Barker, United Kingdom, 93 mins
Co-presented by Brian Kirst of Big Gay Horror Fan

The Handmaiden (2016) – Saturday, November 18 @ 7pm

 

Directed by Park Chan-wook, South Korea, 144 mins
Co-presented by Gerber/Hart Library & Archives

Cristiana: Devil Nun (1972) – Saturday, December 16 @ 7pm

 

Directed by Sergio Bergonzelli, Italy, 102 mins

Co-presented by Corinne Halbert of Acid Nun

Grab your favorite gear and join us on the last Friday of every month, from 6-9pm. We’ll have music, drinks, and snacks to get your weekend off to a kinky start. Join us to socialize with other kinksters, check out the latest exhibits, or just hang out and color in your sexiest stuff.

All gear (or no gear) is welcome….leather, rubber, furries, pups, sports gear, jocks, drag, suits, and whatever makes you feel hot! There are no wrong answers.

These programs are free, and registration is not necessary. LA&M is open to everyone ages 18 and over.

Click here to email us for details!

Come worship with us on the first Sunday of every month with some fun and engaging kink education! Leather Redux is our workshop leader, and will cover a new topic each month. There is plenty of time to listen and learn, and to practice your new skills. Programs are open to all regardless of gender, gender identity, orientation, experience level….all means all.

Click here to email us for details!

Join us on the 2nd Tuesday each month, from 7-9pm. This is a studio drawing class where you can practice your figure drawing skills individually. We’ll provide the sexy fetish models, tables and chairs……you provide whatever materials you want to use for drawing.

This program is available both in-person and online. If attending online, you will receive the zoom link prior to the event after registering.

There is a $10 fee to help us pay our models. You can pay online at https://the-leather-archives-and-museum.networkforgood.com/events/54670-2023-fek-draw or with Venmo (@LeatherArchives) You may also pay cash at the door if you prefer.

Please try to be on time so as not to interrupt the model or the other artists. Doors open at 6:30pm for each session.

Click here to email us for details!

 

Fetish Film Forum is back for more!
January-December, 2024, the Leather Archives & Museum celebrates
sex, relationships, and art with 14 extraordinary films!

Purchase Tickets Here

 

Perspectives on fetish, kink, leather, and BDSM are as numerous as the people in these communities, and the fourteen films in this series explore various points of view on the sexual practice and art of fetish and kink, bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism. Cinema is a fetish for the moving image, a form of roleplay for the actors, and an experience of voyeurism for the viewer, and Fetish Film Forum celebrates the power of film to realize humanity’s innermost desires.

To name just a few of the pleasures that await, we’ll partake in January Giallo with ultra-queer thriller Knife+Heart; pal around with the ever-flirtatious Elvira: Mistress of the Dark for Halfway to Halloween; experience the Chicago premiere of underground marvel The Orgy of the Damned; celebrate Pride Month with the radical depiction of a Christian saint in Derek Jarman’s Sebastiane; spend Madonna’s birthday weekend beholding her steamy performance in Body of Evidence; enjoy twice the sweet suffering in October with a double feature of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II; and cherish a holiday double feature of Edward Scissorhands and Batman Returns exploring the kinky sensibilities of Tim Burton. Scroll down for full screening schedule!

All screenings will be introduced by John McDevitt, and they’ll be joined by numerous guest co-presenters and pop-up vendors throughout the year. Stay after the shows for free post-screening discussions to share your thoughts about these wonderful films!

This series was programmed by John McDevitt in cooperation with the Leather Archives & Museum. John is a lifelong cinephile who currently works as Community Engagement Manager at FACETS, the non-profit film organization in Chicago’s Lincoln Park.

 

TICKETING

Single Ticket: $10/General, or $8/LA&M Members & Students
Double Feature (Oct or Dec): $15/General, or $12/LA&M Members & Students
Season Pass: $100/General, or $80/LA&M Members & Students
Purchase your Single Tickets, Double Features, or Season Pass here
Must be 18 years of age or older.

 

SERIES FILMS

Knife+Heart (2018) – Saturday, January 20 @ 7pm
Directed by Yann Gonzalez, France/Mexico/Switzerland, 102 mins
Co-Presented by Cinematic Void

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989) – Saturday, February 10 @ 7pm
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 101 mins

Geographies of Public Sex – Saturday, March 16 @ 7pm
Contemporary Shorts Program, Various Directors
Co-Presented by Henry Hanson of Full Spectrum Features

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) – Saturday, April 20 @ 7pm
Directed by James Signorelli, USA, 96 mins
Co-Presented by Abhorrent Cinema

The Orgy of the Damned (2023) – Saturday, May 18 @ 7pm
Directed by Norbert Pfaffenbichler, Austria, 82 mins
Co-Presented by Raul Benitez of Chicago International Film Festival

Sebastiane (1976) – Saturday, June 15 @ 7pm
Directed by Derek Jarman & Paul Humfress, United Kingdom, 85 mins
Co-Presented by Pride Film Fest

The Duke of Burgundy (2014) – Saturday, July 20 @ 7pm
Directed by Peter Strickland, United Kingdom, 104 mins

Body of Evidence (1993) – Saturday, August 17 @ 7pm
Directed by Uli Edel, USA/Germany, 99 mins
Co-Presented by Foul Monkeys Podcast

The Night Porter (1974) – Saturday, September 21 @ 7pm
Directed by Liliana Cavani, Italy, 118 mins

Hellraiser (1987) – Saturday, October 19 @ 7pm
Directed by Clive Barker, United Kingdom/USA, 93 mins
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) – Saturday, October 19 @ 9:15pm
Directed by Tony Randel, United Kingdom/USA, 93 mins
Co-Presented by Brian Kirst of Big Gay Horror Fan

Tokyo Decadence (1992) – Saturday, November 16 @ 7pm
Directed by Ryū Murakami, Japan, 112 mins
Co-Presented by Oscarbate

Edward Scissorhands (1990) – Saturday, December 21 @ 7pm
Directed by Tim Burton, USA, 105 mins
Batman Returns (1992) – Saturday, December 21 @ 9:15pm
Directed by Tim Burton, USA, 126 mins
Co-Presented by Gerber/Hart Library & Archives