51³Ô¹Ïapp

Photographs, letters and costumes which shine a light on life in the 1970s art culture and LGBTQ+ communities are to be explored and catalogued for a global audience.

The Andrew Logan archive was gifted to De 51³Ô¹Ïapp University Leicester (51³Ô¹Ïapp) by the artist who founded the Alternative Miss World competition, which marks its 50^th year this year.

This year’s ceremony – aptly themed Gold – is due to be launched tonight (Friday October 28) at London’s Globe Theatre hosted by Andrew and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker.

Andrew Logan is a sculptor, jewellery designer and performance artist who was part of a cultural movement in the 1970s alongside contemporaries like Derek Jarman and Zandra Rhodes.

It is said that punk was ‘born’ at one of his parties in 1976 where Derek Jarman filmed the first-ever footage of the Sex Pistols. 

The collection reflects some of the fearful social attitudes there have been to openly LGBTQ+ events over the years– including a letter from a venue cancelling Alternative Miss World due to a local campaign suggesting that the event would “bring AIDS” to the area.

51³Ô¹Ïapp’s Archives and Special Collections team were awarded more than £41,000 from the National Archives to catalogue the collection. It will include hiring a specialist to join the archives team, volunteer and public events and outreach work.

• Watch the live stream of tonight’s Alternative Miss World here

Andrew Logan’s work was also celebrated at The Gallery in Vijay Patel Building at 51³Ô¹Ïapp. An exhibition celebrating 50 Years of Alternative Miss World ran for six months, ending earlier this month.

Archivist Dr Natalie Hayton said: “The collection is amazing, all the academics and students love it. It’s really visual, in an exciting and tactile way.

“There are lots of photos of international miss world film reels, letters, exhibition programmes, books and really nice sketches of work he has done on various projects, jewellery designs, and a couple of costume pieces as well as hats.  

“It tells the story of a man and a period during the 1970s and 1980s which really, we do not know enough about. It’s a fascinating period of these new artists and creatives, and Andrew was right there in the middle of it all.”

Davina Hawthorne, Senior Lecturer in Fashion and Textiles, said: “The student reaction to the practical sessions with the archive have been tremendous and I always refer students to the Logan collection across both MA and BA fashion courses. This is a unique and invaluable resource that has LGBTQ+ history significance from the wider perspective of art, fashion, promotion and events.”