By Gregg Rowe
On Saturday, August 8th, I’ll be standing at the exposition for a moment that is very close to my heart. On this historic day during Pride, the Gay Archives of Quebec and AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM) are coming togetherto launch
The Coming Out of Montreal’s Gay Village (1974-1990), the English version catalogue published for the Exhibition
L’Émergence du Village gai (Montréal 1974-1990), capturing the militant building of the Gay Community right here in Montreal.
The exhibition chronicles a pivotal era: the migration of Montreal’s gay community from the West side to the East side between 1974 and 1990—giving rise to what we now know simply as “Le Village.”
Told through 25 exhibition panels and seven video testimonies from the very advocates who fought for our spaces, this history covers the moments that shaped us: from the historic police raid on Truxx in 1977 until just before the Sex Garage raids in 1990.
“At the Comité des Arrêtés du Truxx, it took us five years of struggle to get the criminal charges dropped. For me, it was a source of great pride to have resisted the ignominy, to have lived through this magnificent era of gay emancipation. I am a proud person: proud to be a man, proud to be a homo sapiens, proud to be homosexual.”
— Gilbert Higgins (Excerpt from the exhibition video “La rafle du Truxx”)
This period was about so much more than police raiding bars and saunas. It was about the survival of a community.
Curator François Bellemare has expertly mapped this migration of our bars, restaurants, and stores. He pauses the story in 1990, when the Sex Garage raids sparked a powerful, unified synergy—bringing our diverse cultures together to fight for real solutions alongside government, police, and neighboring communities.
ACCM’s Place in the Struggle
ACCM played a vital role in the movement during these heavy years. Lacking government funding, ACCM officially incorporated as an organization in 1988. But we weren’t late to the party: from 1983 to 1988, we were already operating as a grassroots volunteer collective called the Montreal AIDS Resource Centre.
When we obtained corporate status, we became the only Anglophone/Allophone community organization in Quebec serving people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Ninety-five percent of our members were active, militant volunteers who helped shape our Village and build the safe spaces we desperate needed.
That was nearly 40 years ago. Over the decades, we’ve watched so many sister organizations close their doors—the Farha Foundation, CPAVIH, Fondation AIDE Directe SIDA, and The Names Project Commemorative Quilt (Quebec Chapter), to name just a few. In just 18 months ACCM will mark a massive milestone when we turn 40.
Marking My Own Milestones
This season, I am also marking two deeply personal milestones. This October, I will have been living with HIV for 40 years, and I will have been volunteering with ACCM for 40 years.
In 1987, ACCM needed a voice across Canada. Through a contest, I was chosen to be that voice (and I haven’t shut up since!). But I wanted to go further: I wanted to give HIV a human face. I became the “Poster Boy” of Quebec and a vocal advocate across the country.
Whether you’re a veteran of those early days looking to rekindle memories, a younger community member curious about our pre-Internet history, or someone who simply wants to honor how far we’ve come—this exhibition is for you. It serves as a vital reminder of how fragile our achievements are, and how tightly linked our identity is to the history of this city.
I hope to see a lot of my militant friends from the past, my comrades of today, and the future leaders of tomorrow. Drop by this Saturday—let’s share some stories.
Event Details
- Event: Community Day @ Pride (Exposition & Launch)
- Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026
- Time: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM (12h00 to 20h00)
- Location: 1314 rue Sainte-Catherine Est, Montréal
- Accessibility: Fully accessible to people with reduced mobility.
About Gregg Rowe
Gregg Rowe (He/they) is a co-founder of ACCM (1987), an Honorary Lifetime Board Member, and has been living with HIV for nearly 40 years. He was formally recognized by the Gay Archives of Quebec as one of the militant builders of the Montreal Lesbian and Gay Community for his work between 1984–1991, and is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025) for his extraordinary 38 years of volunteer service in the HIV/AIDS milieu.
About the Curator
Active in journalism and poetry, François Bellemare is the author of the satirical novel La Renaissance de l’Interlope (Sémaphore, 2022). Set in 2029 in the Red Light District and the Village, his work is rooted in extensive archival research conducted largely at the Archives gaies du Québec.