LONDON, Jan 26 — The LGBTQ+ community will soon have a museum dedicated to its history in London. This new cultural institution should open its doors in the spring in Granary Square, in the London district of King’s Cross.
The museum will occupy part of a historic building owned by the British organisation Art Fund. It will be administered by Queer Britain, another charity that strives to preserve “the stories and ideas” related to the LGBTQ+ community in the UK.
This queer heritage, which encompasses all sexual and gender identities that stand apart from heterosexuality, is increasingly being lost. “Queer people have impacted every part of culture, yet all too often their lives have been written in the margins of history books. Valuable stories and artefacts are being lost. Once gone, they may never be recovered. These deserve a dedicated space to be preserved, explored and celebrated,” explained Queer Britain in a statement.
While the association has not yet revealed exactly when the museum will open, it has announced that it will include four galleries, a gift store, offices and educational spaces. The public will be able to visit for free, although Queer Britain encourages donations to further its mission of preserving and safeguarding LGBTQ+ heritage.
LGBTQ+ history comes to the museum
“The UK is finally getting the LGBTQ+ museum it deserves, to reflect and celebrate all our exciting and wildly diverse communities, whatever their sexualities, gender identities, backgrounds, ability or heritage. Community lives in unity,” said Anjum Mouj, Queer Britain trustee.
This is the first time that a museum will be entirely dedicated to LGBTQ+ history in the UK. However, British institutions such as the V&A and the National Museums Liverpool hold several objects related to the queer community in their collections.
In the United States, a similar museum will open in New York City in 2024. It “will seek to strike a careful balance between New York and national queer history,” according to the New York Times. It will join the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in the SoHo neighbourhood, whose “mission is to exhibit and preserve LGBTQ+ art” and make accessible artworks by artists like Winston Leyland, Wilhelm von Gloeden and Cheryl A. Traendly. — ETX Studio
