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Queer Britain

Established	May 2022
Location	2 Granary Square, Kings Cross, London
Coordinates	51°32′09″N 0°07′26″W / 51.5357°N 0.1239°W / 51.5357; -0.1239
Type	Museum
Director	Andrew Given
Curator	Jennifer Shearman
Website	queerbritain.org.uk

Queer Britain is a museum of British LGBTQ history and culture located in Kings Cross, London. It is the first dedicated LGBTQ museum in the UK. The museum consists of three connected galleries plus a shop and occupies the ground floor of 2 Granary Square, a building owned by the Art Fund, with office and studio space on lower ground. Admission is free.

History

Queer Britain was founded in February 2018 by Joseph Galliano-Doig, a former editor of Gay Times, and Ian Mehrtens. It was registered as a charity in September 2019. Joseph was awarded an MBE for services to Heritage, to Charity, and to Diversity and Inclusion in the 2024 New Year's Honours List.

Exhibitions

Prior to gaining its own location, Queer Britain staged occasional exhibitions in temporary locations. In 2018 it staged an exhibition Our Naked Skin in collaboration with the Salisbury Arts Centre including a filmed oral history project, Virtually Queer. In summer 2019 it staged an exhibition on Chosen Family in Mercer Street Showrooms, Covent Garden.

Queer Britain opened as a physical museum on May 5, 2022, in advance of the 50th anniversary of Britain's first gay pride march. The introductory display, Welcome to Queer Britain, consisted of material from the museum's photography archive. The first full exhibition, We Are Queer Britain, occupying all three galleries, opened in July. The exhibition won Best Small Museum Project 2022, awarded by The Museums Association as part of their Museums Change Lives campaign. When not on display, the museum's collection is housed at the Bishopsgate Institute.

See also

• List of museums in London
• Schwules Museum

References

1. "New director appointed to lead Queer Britain | Museum Association". museumsassociation.org/.
2. "OUR TEAM | Queer Britain". queerbritain.org.uk.
3. "The New York Times". The New York Times, 4 August 2022.
4. "Queer British history and culture to be displayed and celebrated at new London museum". NBC News. 5 May 2022.
5. "Queer Britain museum 'an overdue resource'". the Guardian. 28 February 2018.
6. "Inside Queer Britain, The UK's First National LGBTQ+ Museum". HuffPost UK. 5 May 2022.
7. "QUEER BRITAIN MUSEUM LTD, Fundraising Regulator". 30 September 2025.
8. Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (29 December 2023). "New Year Honours 2024". BBC News.
9. "HISTORY 2018 Virtually Queer launch | Queer Britain". queerbritain.org.uk.
10. "HISTORY 2019 Chosen Family | Queer Britain". queerbritain.org.uk.
11. "Levi's teams with Queer Britain on new exhibition Chosen Family". Creative Review. 18 June 2019.
12. "Not one but two LGBTQ cultural spaces to open in London this spring". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 3 May 2022.
13. Hernandez, Marcus J. (10 May 2022). "UK welcomes its first LGBTQ Museum: Queer Britain". GayCities Wanderlust Blog.
14. "Queer Britain prepares to welcome visitors to King's Cross site". Museums Association. 29 April 2022.
15. "The Museums Association Museums Change Lives Awards 2023". The Museums Association, 3 November 2022.
16. "London's LGBTQ+ Museum Opens In May". Londonist. 11 April 2022.

External links

• Official website
• ‘This is for everyone!’: inside Britain’s first ever LGBTQ+ museum (Owen Jones for The Guardian)
• Why the UK Needs a LGBTQ+ Museum (Interview with Joseph Galliano by Sophie Willkinson for Vice)

• 2018 establishments in the United Kingdom
• Museums established in 2022
• Museums in London
• LGBTQ museums and archives
• Sexuality in the United Kingdom
• LGBTQ history in the United Kingdom
• LGBTQ culture in the United Kingdom
• Kings Cross, London
• Charities based in London