BDSM RTV MEDIA NEWS!!!!



11 feb 2010



Closer Look gets the scoop on the Leather Archives & Museum.


Source: www.loyolaphoenix.com  - Loyola Phoenix  - USA


Phoenix -- Discreetly placed between the residential apartment buildings that line Greenview Avenue sits the only institution in the world that preserves the history of leather fetishism. The Leather Archives & Museum (acknowledged simply as LA&M on the building’s façade) is a 10,000 sq. foot, two-story building that houses a library, museum and archives honoring leather fetishism, sadomasochism and alternative sexual practices. According to Jennifer Tyburczy, Ph.D., director of programming, the LA&M is the only museum of its kind in the world. The best part: this institution is just a mere 10-minute walk from campus.


The museum is located west of the Devon Market grocery store’s parking lot. The simple entrance to the museum deceives the casual passer-by - a person can only know what the LA&M houses inside by having some prior knowledge of the building’s actual purpose. Visitors are even required to ring a doorbell for security purposes before being allowed into the facility.

One of the most impressive parts of the museum is the 164-seat auditorium - a remnant of the building’s past as a synagogue and Baptist church. Ironically enough, the same space now houses artifacts from the leather fetish community including, you guessed it, whips and bondage equipment, chastity belts, paddles and fetish art. There’s even a dungeon-style room complete with eerie lighting and a bondage rack.
The museum’s story began in 1991, when founder, Chicago-native and current LA&M President Chuck Renslow inherited the leather fetish-inspired artwork of his late partner, Dom Orejudos, who drew and painted under the name Etienne. Instead of selling the artwork to various gay libraries, Renslow decided to collaborate with other notable alternative sex experts such as the late Tony DeBlase, a former curator of the Chicago Field Museum and creator of the Leather Pride Flag, to establish the Leather Archives & Museum.

The Rogers Park facility has been the permanent home of the LA&M since 1999. Tyburczy said that the museum “chose this building because it fit [their] budget.” She said, “Chuck Renslow was able to raise $28,000 in donations in one night from the leather community to pay the down payment … eventually we raised $225,000 in August 2004 to help pay our mortgage.”

According to Tyburczy, “the purpose of the LA&M is to serve the community.” The considerable auditorium space has been used to house academic events, film screenings, theater performances and even meet-and-greet sessions with the local leather community. A group known as The Next Generation Chicago meets at the LA&M monthly to provide a social community for 18-35 year old BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism) practitioners.
In addition to the museum artifacts on display, the LA&M also houses an extensive library of papers, records, primary sources and books, both published and unpublished, from notable alternative sex organizations and experts in the field. Tyburczy noted that the “archives are available for those who are simply curious to those who would genuinely like to do research on the history of leather lifestyles and practices.”

The LA&M also regularly puts out five traveling exhibits that trek to museums, libraries and other places of interest in the U.S. from the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in between. Right now, the museum is quickly gathering artifacts and monetary donations for their newest projects, which include highlighting leather culture as it pertains to women and people of color. “Leather and Latinos/Latinas is a new exhibit that we’re currently working on since the museum does currently focus mostly on gay male leather lifestyles,” said Tyburczy.

Because the LA&M only receives about 1,200 visitors per year, the museum relies heavily on tax-deductible donations - either actual alternative sexual relics or monetary gifts - to keep it up-and-running, especially during the economic recession. Tyburczy said LA&M’s “sponsors have really stepped up to the plate,” and that is the main reason why the institution has remained a success during these challenging economic times.

When I asked Tyburczy why her organization felt there was a need for a leather archives museum, she simply replied, “Because leather has a history.” It’s safe to say that this history, however kinky, risqué or just plain sexually titillating, is well-captured in Rogers Park.