Collecting History With Aaron Marcus
“I appreciate everything that has come before me,” says Aaron Marcus.
Aaron Marcus was announced as the Gill Foundation’s LGBTQ curator at the History of Colorado in February of 2020. Before this position, he worked for the museum as the photo studio manager since 2015, and the exhibit’s photo researcher before that. Marcus has a passion for collecting and preserving the stories of LGBTQ individuals.
He had plans to travel all over Colorado this summer collecting oral stories and other pieces of LGBTQ contemporary history for the museum, however, COVID-19 has postponed Marcus’ travel plans until further notice.
His days are spent emailing and calling folks that might have something pertaining to LGBTQ history. “A large part of my position is going out into the community; there’s many different ways to collecting but since COVID, I’ve done a couple meetings over zoom. It’s just not the same because there’s not that personal connection,” Marcus says.
Marcus reflects on an oral story which he recorded recently featuring a gay senior gentleman. “From the time he was a teenager in the 40s till now, (it) really makes you appreciate how far we’ve come. Though we still have a ways to go,” Marcus says. “But, to hear his stories and how having to basically hide a huge part of his life just so he could advance his career, makes me appreciate it.”
“A lot of LGBTQ is contemporary. The community as a whole didn’t really exist the way we think about it before Stonewall riots,” Marcus tells. He explains his role as the LGTBQ curator is to collect memorabilia from the late 60s to present day.
During his early twenties, Marcus protested against Amendment Two in Colorado. “It made you aware of what was going on, and how horrible it was. In 1992, Amendment Two was ratified by a group called ‘Focus on the Family.’ The state could not take legal action protecting homosexuals or bisexuals as a protected class,” he tells.
At that time, Marcus had just moved to the city from a small farming town. “When Amendment Two passed, and to see all these people happy about that, you’re like, ‘Wow, why do they hate me so much?’,” he says.
Marcus reflects, “In this larger city, definitely not San Francisco or New York size, but the largest in Colorado, you’d think you can live openly, go out, and date. At the time it really affected me. As far as today, and to look back on that, you think you’ve come a long way, and then we really haven’t.”
When travel restrictions subside, Marcus intends to revisit plans to cover Colorado regions from Grand Junction to the east plains in search of personal stories. All his oral story anecdotes can be found on SoundCloud, and the History Colorado webpage. The LGBTQ exhibit is set to showcase summer of 2022 at the History Colorado Museum in Denver.
“Every one has a story. If they can tell me what it was like for them to be a teenager in the 60s, and you knew you were gay, or at any age at anytime, it’s fascinating to me,” Marcus says.
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