Leather Archives & Museum announces the annual LA&M Visiting Scholars Program for 2025. A stipend of $2,000 will be awarded to one recipient to conduct research using LA&M’s unique archival collections. Up to an additional $1,500 of travel reimbursement will also be provided to cover costs associated with visiting LA&M for research.
The award is available to an individual working on a specific project that can be strongly supported by the LA&M archival collections. Potential applicants include individuals with academic appointments, graduate students, and independent researchers. This is a multi-disciplinary program and the LA&M welcomes proposed projects from any discipline. Please note that the Emerging Artist in Residence Program is available specifically for artists as a separate program and application process.
LA&M seeks projects which will use its archival and research collections to create new scholarship related to the history and culture of leather, fetish, kink and BDSM. Proposals should include research leading to publication, as well as public programs, conferences or events that share the results of the research.
Leather Archives & Museum Visiting Scholars Program is made possible through a generous grant from Leather SINS and their Chicago-based event, Kinky Kollege.
Important Dates:
Application Process
Your complete application package must be emailed by the deadline and must include all of the following:
The application packet must be emailed to online@leatherarchives.org by the applicant. An email verification will be sent upon receipt of your application. All application materials must be received by 5pm central time, February 24, 2025.
If selected as a finalist, you will be asked to provide a letter of recommendation from someone with knowledge of your research experience and potential for success.
The LA&M Visiting Scholars selection panel is composed of board members, interdisciplinary scholars, activists and LA&M staff. Your application will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
2010 Anthony Easton, University of Toronto
2011 David K. Johnson, Ph.D. University of South Florida
2012 Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone, Ph.D. University of Central Missouri
2012 Honorable Mention Steven Ruszczycky, University at Buffalo, SUNY
2014 Lily Emerson, University of Auckland, New Zealand
2014 Honorable Mention Ying-Chao Kao, Rutgers University
2015 Anna Robinson, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands and Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
2015 Honorable Mention Tara Burke, Independent scholar and art historian
2016 Francisco Ibàñez-Carrasco Ph.D. and Erica Meiners, Ph.D.
2016 Scott Herring, Indiana University
2017 Kirin Wachter-Grene, New York University
2018 Heather Raquel Phillips, University of Pennsylvania
2020 Michael Thomas Vassallo, Temple University
2022 Jay Sosa, Bowdoin College
2022 Honorable Mention Lucie Drdová, CARAS
2023 Alexandra Grolimund, University of Essex
2023 Honorable Mention, Kassandra Sparks, UC Berkeley
2024 Alexandra Fanghanel, University of Greenwich, London
2024 Honorable Mention, Alexandria Cunningham, Independent Scholar
Founded in 1991, the Leather Archives & Museum has become recognized worldwide as a significant center dedicated to the compilation, preservation, and maintenance of primary materials on the leather, kink, BDSM and fetish communities and their cultures in both physical and electronic formats. Our museum galleries serve to present educational and historical material that highlights the silent histories of marginalized and under-represented communities while the archives and library serve the needs of scholars, writers and artists.
The LA&M is located on Greenview Avenue in Chicago near Loyola University. The building houses the Teri Rose Library with holdings of over 3,000 books and 12,600 journals and periodicals, a 1425 sq. ft. archival storage space, and eight exhibit galleries. the Guest Artist Gallery (GAG) with rotating exhibits that celebrate contemporary artists who inspire dialogues related to Leather, kink, BDSM and fetish and a community space used for programming and special events.
The LA&M is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a charity under the 501 c (3) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Nearly all income is derived from the generous support of members and organizations within the leather/kink/BDSM/fetish communities.