The Leather Archives & Museum is has announced that Alexandra Grolimund is their 2023 annual Visiting Scholar recipient.

The annual Visiting Scholar’s program was created in 2010 to support researchers, writers, artists and filmmakers working in kink, fetish, leather and BDSM whose projects could benefit from LAM’s vast archival collections. The program is funded through a generous grant from Leather Sins, hosts of Kinky Kollege in Chicago, IL. This year LAM received 42 applications, the largest number since its inception with an extremely competitive field of research proposals.

Grolimund will receive a $1,000 stipend, as well as financial support for travel to Chicago to conduct research on site in the archives.

Grolimund, is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Essex where her interdisciplinary work bridges the School of Law and the School of Philosophy and Art History. Grolimund’s research focuses on UK criminal law and the European human rights law with a focus on the socio-cultural legacy of Operation Spanner. She has numerous publications and conference presentations relating to S/M, consent and the law. Grolimund earned an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in International Relations from Webster University. She serves as an Assistant Lecturer at University of Essex, and currently resides in Manningtree, England.

Grolimund’s research at LA&M will explore the international campaign of support that arose during the R v Brown House of Lords case, known colloquially as the Spanner case named after Operation Spanner, the police investigation into gay male sadomasochism across the UK in the 1980’s.

In addition, the LAM Program Committee also chose to recognize applicant Kassandra Sparks with an “Honorable Mention” for their submitted research proposal. Sparks is researching the History of Professional Dominatrixes in New York City and the commercial BDSM industry. Sparks is currently pursuing a PhD at University of California Berkeley in the Anthropology Department.

The Leather Archives & Museum wishes to thank Leather Sins and their Kinky Kollege events for their support of this program. To find out more about the Museum head to their website at leatherarchives.org. They can also be followed on their Twitter @leatherarchives, Instagram @leatherarchives, and Facebook @leatherarchives.