Britian plans to open its first LGBTI museum to complete the nation’s ‘family photo album’

The history and achievements of LGBTI Brits are to be enshrined in the country’s first LGBTI museum.

The museum, called Queer Britain, plans to open in 2021 in London. This is only after museum curators tour the country to uncover additional material.

Behind the museum

‘Our nation’s family photo album is incomplete and the pages are scattered,’ said Joseph Galliano, former editor of Gay Times and the man behind the project.

‘It’s an opportunity to create an institution which moves from marking oppression towards celebrating role models and the enormous impact that LGBTQ+ people have had on society.’

Galliano also says the museum will utilize virtual reality (VR) to create immersive experiences for visitors.

‘I’d really like it to be somewhere where, if a young woman has just come out to her mother, they can go together so they can both understand a bit more about each other,’ Galliano said.

Galliano is building off the fact that 2017 marked 50 years since homosexual acts were decriminalized in Britain.

In a statement, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan said, ‘I look forward to the opening of the new museum and the role it will play in shining a light on LGBTQ+ history,’

‘As Mayor, it’s so important to me that London is seen as a city where LGBTQ+ people feel valued, happy and safe – this sends a clear message to the world that London is a beacon of diversity,’ Khan said.

London will join other cities such as San Francisco, Berlin, Amsterdam, and New York in having LGBTI museums. Toronto and Melbourne are also cities with official LGBTI archives.

Who else is involved?

The museum’s advisory board will include Lisa Power, co-founder of LGBTI equality organization Stonewall, Chris Smith, Britain’s first openly gay lawmaker, and Sandy Nairne, former director of the National Portrait Gallery.

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