Queer Storytelling in Visual Media

We took into consideration many factors when selecting an item for our archive:

• Cover various time periods and formats: We did not want our archive to represent only one specific medium like painting or sculputures, and likewise we did not them to all be from the same country or point in time. We want to show the diversity and endurance of queer narratives, so we evaluated when selecting an item how represented the medium was in our archive, if one time period was overshadowing others in the amount of content, or if works from the country of origin in question were already represented and if so how often.
• Tells a story: Any item selected needed to fit into a larger narrative - whether a myth/fiction, a story from the creator's life, or as part of a societal conversation. For example, a piece of art simply showing two women in a sexual act that has no larger story attached to it would not be suitable. We are specifically focused on visual narratives.
• Consider stereotypes and potential content warning vs historical value and contributution: Some of our items touched on very sensitive matters like pedophilia, suicide, or violent homophobia. We did not want our archive to be centered around queer trauma, but we felt it was important to acknowledge these subjects rather than ignore them, as many important pieces of art where made in response to these topics. You can't be aware of how someone is subverting stereotypes if you aren't aware of what those stereotypes are, nor can you have the full context of the evolution of queer art if you don't acknowledge the sometimes painful historical context it was made under. But we made sure to evaluate whether an item's value was unique as significant enough it merited touching on a senstive subject, and we used content warnings so users could make informed decision about their experience. 
• Copyright: We made sure to consider copyright when selecting an item. Most of our items are in the public domain, and those that aren't were covered by the academic/schoolwork nature of the project.