NYC Trans Archives

The New York City Trans Archives is dedicated to preserving transgender culture in the NYC region and beyond.

The NYC Trans Archives (NYCTA) preserves transgender culture in the New York City region and beyond. Founded in 2023, NYCTA evolved out of a dual need for independent and community-led trans archives. It is the largest transgender archive on the East Coast, with ephemera from over 18 countries among 6 continents. We plan to open our physical location in New York City in 2027, with your fundraising support.

As an archive dedicated to trans liberation and social justice, NYCTA focuses on ephemera that are too often left out of traditional archives, such as materials by trans women of color (particularly Black and Brown femmes), migrants, disabled people, youth, poor and working-class people, and community organizers. We use professional archival storage facilities in New Jersey and follow Society of American Archivists guidelines to ensure the longevity of our collections.

NYCTA was never solely about our collections. Along with archival material, NYCTA offers dedicated public programming, ranging from trans youth arts workshops to trans studies courses.

What do donations go?

In 2025-2026, 98% of donations went directly to programming and collections. The remaining 2% went to outreach (brochures and event tabling supplies).

Here’s what we can do with your donation:

$1 - preserves a button from 1980
$5 - preserves a 1970 trans magazine
$10 - preserves a rare protest poster
$20 - mails a book from South America to the US
$50 - recovers a trans book at risk of becoming a lost literary work
$200 - holds a cataloging and archivist training day
$1000 - brings a large book and ephemera collection to NYC from overseas
$2500 - covers the cost of job training for a new staff archivist
$200000 - moves the archive into a permanent home while creating new jobs for trans community members