UK’s first queer museum founder: ‘It’s not just another bar, you know?’
Queer Britain, the UK’s first ever queer museum opens its doors today, taking over the grand old industrial building in King’s Cross’s Granary Square that was once home to the House of Illustration.
The intimate space is the first iteration of Queer Britain, with director and co-founder Joseph Galliano hoping to gain funding for a larger museum – one of “some magnitude” – within 48 months.
Galliano recalls the recent launch event: “People left and it was just the core team so we locked the doors and said, ‘Right let’s get a bottle of wine.’ We went and sat on the floor in the gallery. I’ve been fantasising about that moment for four or five years. It was joyous, I am pinching myself at how beautiful the space looks.”
Queer Britain opens with a photo exhibition of heritage photos as well as contemporary portraiture on the theme of “Chosen Families”, first exhibited in 2019. There are images of male World War I soldiers dressed in women’s clothes, photos from various LGBTQ protests throughout the last half century, as revealing of differing queer fashions as they are mindsets, and one striking image of two female Victorian theatremakers dressed in male clothing.
Taking in the photos across three rooms and leaving time for the gift shop requires around an hour. The inaugural ‘Welcome To Queer Britain’ exhibition remains open until Pride weekend, closing on July 4, and the first new exhibition curated specifically for the space opens in July.
“We want people to leave feeling thoughtful but celebrated,” Galliano told CityAM “We’re here to look backwards and understand where we’ve come from to understand who we are, so we can create a space where we’re able to educate and inspire and hold a conversation about what our best possible futures are.”
Galliano is excited by the proposition of a Queer Britain being a sober space for queers and allies. “It’s something that’s not just another bar, you know?” he says. “That’s the thing that I think is really exciting. Stuff that’s a bit more culturally engaged than just drinking. And I say that as someone who’s fully supportive of bars – I know how tough that’s been.”
Influential queer figures on the board of directors include Tom Mehrtens, the former chief operating officer of London Southbank University, and Lisa Power, a founder of Stonewall who, as Galliano puts it, “is one of the most effective activists this country’s ever produced”. “It’s come out excitingly diverse,” says Galliano. “One of the most diverse boards I’ve ever seen.”
Queer Britain will go on tour, working on pop-ups and partnerships across the country, and conversations are underway about potential collaborations with the new LGBTQ Community Centre on the South Bank.
Being in the capital has other benefits for Queer Britain, including being able to piggy-back off the capital’s tourist scene and funding infrastructure. “It felt like it needed to be here,” says Galliano. “We hopefully will have a higher footfall. The downside was it’s probably less easy to get statutory funding, but then more access to communities…”
Queer Britain’s space is being leased to the organisation by the Art Fund organisation, and is a registered charity, with all cash made in the shop going back into the organisation. The museum itself has been funded by private donations. Raising money is the biggest roadblock for grassroots queer projects in the capital, says Galliano.
“How do you move organisations on from talking the talk to actually walking the walk?” Galliano asks. “You look at Pride Month and you look at the rainbow washing that does happen, this spray of rainbows, it’s a better problem to have than we used to have, but it’s still not ideal. If we can show that these sorts of projects can demonstrate success, that makes it easier [to develop more queer initiatives in the future].”
Queer Britain is open Wed-Sun from midday to 6pm. Photos: Alia Romagnoli