In 2025, AVG-Carhif celebrated its 30th anniversary. To mark the occasion, we posted a monthly favourite from the team (and more) on our social media.
In this video, Patricia and Josiane, donors to the Isabel Dargent archive, present their favourite: the Les Lesbianaires documentation centre, managed by Isabel Dargent for over 20 years.
English translation of the video
AVG-Carhif: What is the Lesbianaires documentation centre?
Patricia: It was a documentation and research centre on radical lesbianism, consisting of the press review of the same name, a collection of books, periodicals, magazines, photos, pins, posters and even T-shirts. It was all managed in our friend Isabel Dargent’s flat for over 20 years.
AVG-Carhif: Why did you step in to save these archives?
Josiane: Being long-time friends of Isabel, we were aware of the richness of her archives. Isabel had a sense of transmission. She was a passer, as Michel Causse said. She was one of the pioneers of radical lesbianism. She had built up a large international network of lesbians with whom she exchanged letters, subscriptions and magazines.
Patricia: And when we learned that she had to leave her flat, it was obvious to us that we had to save the archives. We negotiated a three-week deadline with the family to sort through the material, pack it into boxes and transport it. We were unable to gather her collection of records, cassettes and audiovisual material. However, a friend donated the audio recording of Isabel’s talk on lesbian friendship, and we found the private correspondence that Isabel had received from some of her friends. This will also be deposited at AVG-Carhif.
AVG-Carhif: Why did you choose AVG-Carhif to donate these archives?
Josiane: Before we got involved, Isabel had already contacted AVG-Carhif. So we decided to continue along the same path. Especially since Marie-Françoise Stewart and Els Flour from AVG-Carhif assured us that Isabel’s wishes regarding consultation and authorisation would be respected. We would like to thank them for their help and advice during and after the donation of the archives.