ONE Archives at the 9th-Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

Admission is free.

Come join ONE Archives at the 9th-Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar! Presented by L.A. as Subject and the USC Libraries, the Archives Bazaar showcases a broad array of local institutions and archives with experts on hand to show off their collections and answer questions. The day-long event will include a screening of Monomaniacs, a documentary sponsored by Cal Humanities and airing on KCET about the motives and passions of collectors. Monomaniacs features an interview with ONE’s Director Joseph Hawkins on the sci-fi fan zines of activist Jim Kepner and the relationship between fantasy and early LGBTQ activism. Additionally, reproduction of images from Kepner’s collection of science fiction publications at ONE will be on display on the second floor at the Doheny Memorial Library.

Download the 9th-Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar brochure here.

About “Jim Kepner and the Sanctuary of Sci-Fi”

What did science fiction and LGBTQ activism have in common in the 1950s? Quite a lot, it turns out, as ONE Archives at the USC Libraries director Joseph Hawkins discovered when he dove into the personal papers of Jim Kepner. As a passionate science fiction fan and a pioneering activist for LGBTQ rights, Kepner (1923–97) had a foot in both camps, and his collection of zines, artwork, and other sci-fi materials reveals hidden harmonies between the two movements. Both envisioned a future free from the constraints of the time. Sci-fi authors dreamed of a future where technological innovation overcame the limitations of physics, like the gravity that then still bound humanity to the Earth. Likewise, members of the homophile movement, as LGBTQ activists then styled themselves, imagined a future where social progress trumped traditional ideas about gender identity and sexual orientation.

More About the Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

Come experience the diversity of stories that make Southern California such a place of discovery. At the 9th-annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar, presented by L.A. as Subject and the USC Libraries, anyone with an interest in the region’s history will find something of value. A broad array of institutions and archives will have experts on hand to show off their collections and answer questions—from the Autry National Center of the American West and the Los Angeles Public Library to private collectors whose materials fill the gaps left in the region’s history. In all, more than 70 archives will be represented at this event, which is free and open to the public.

In addition, the bazaar will feature an archives roadshow, where anyone can bring historic photos or documents from home they want scanned; panels featuring specialists discussing the monsters that lurk throughout Southern California and L.A.’s “magical” year of 1939; and a screening of Monomaniacs, a documentary sponsored by Cal Humanities and airing on KCET about the motives and passions of collectors.

The USC Libraries serve as the host institution for L.A. as Subject, an alliance of libraries, museums, and other archival and cultural organizations. The relationship complements the USC libraries’ strong regional history collection and is a natural outgrowth of the libraries’ efforts to preserve and expand access to the primary sources of L.A. history.

Image: (Background) Alva Rogers, Unknown (Moon walk), 1945 in Jim Kepner’s Toward TomorrowNo. 1 (Spring 1956). Jim Kepner Papers. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries