Revealing and celebrating LGBTQ+ heritage in RAMM’s collections
Out and About: Queering the Museum was an intergenerational project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which empowered lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) communities to uncover and create existing and new LGBTQ+ heritage at RAMM.
Through this project, RAMM furthered its commitment to creating a platform for underrepresented and marginalised voices. The museum seeks to become a space for open dialogue and discussion that allows members of the LGBTQ+ community to share their own perspectives on the collections.
Curators and engagement specialists at RAMM will work with Dr Jana Funke (an academic expert on LGBTQ+ history) and socially engaged artist Natalie McGrath to give LGBTQ+ people skills and opportunities to interpret the collections and reveal previously obscured aspects of LGBTQ+ heritage.
Through a series of events, an online trail and website, a series of artist commissions, a new piece of creative heritage writing and a permanent installation, LGBTQ+ heritage was highlighted and shared with RAMM’s audiences.
Project Background
Out and About: Queering the Museum has resulted from an existing collaboration with young LGBTQ+ people and RAMM, led by McGrath and Dr Funke. This collaboration led to the launch of the Rainbow Trail at RAMM in 2019, which explored sexual and gender identity across time, place and culture.
“ I really liked it. It’s important to have the trail and build on it in the future. Our histories should be even more visible.” Young LGBTQ+ Person from the X-Plore Youth Group
Project Commitments
Inspired by this earlier work, RAMM expanded its engagement with LGBTQ+ communities, co-creating alternative interpretations of the collections and identifying stories from people that are underrepresented as a result of intolerance.
This was driven by the following commitments:
- To collaborate in meaningful ways with diverse partners in the LGBTQ+ community, including people who are trans and non-binary and/or of colour.
- Explore decolonial and anti-racist approaches to the LGBTQ+ histories embedded in the RAMM’s collections.
- Make the RAMM a more welcoming and accessible space for all members of the LGBTQ+ community, so no one feels excluded because of their sexual identity or gender identity.
- Ensure that learning from the project is shared with other partners in the museum and heritage sector.
- Embed learning to guarantee an ongoing commitment that the stories and lives of the LGBTQ+ community remain integral to the museum’s work beyond the life of this project.
“One of the aims of this collaboration is to ensure that communities and groups who have not traditionally engaged with RAMM or the broader heritage sector see their stories reflected in the museum. The previous pilot project showed that young LGBTQ+ people often feel alienated from heritage sites, but are deeply invested in making historically under-represented LGBTQ+ stories visible.” Rachel Sutton, Portfolio Holder for Climate and Culture at Exeter City council
Project team:
Learn more about the team behind the project on the Out and About website.
Artists and Collaborators:
This project included opportunities for collaborations with artists, performers, writers, community groups, and volunteers. Please see the ‘Meet the artists’ page on the project website for a full list of collaborators.
The following artists were commissioned:
- Oren Shoesmith (artist commission)
- Caleb Parkin (artist commission)
- Charice Bhardwaj & Carina Miles (artist commission)
- Bird La Bird
A new permanent interactive installation in the shape of a butterfly now showcases LGBTQ+ people’s responses to objects in RAMM’s collections by sharing oral histories from LGBTQ+ people and explore ways of telling our shared history. The aim of this new Out and About installation is to celebrate LGBTQ+ heritage and encourage visitors to explore the collections from different perspectives and create a platform for underrepresented communities.
“We wanted to make an installation that would fully celebrate the LGBTQ+ voices and amazing stories within it. We wanted it to both stand out and fit in to the museum setting. The inspiration for the butterfly came initially from seeing the collection of butterflies at the RAMM, which connects to themes that arise within some of the stories around transformation, beauty and spreading your wings.
There are two ways for visitors to enjoy the work – firstly through selecting and listening to the personal stories connected to the extraordinary array of objects, and secondly by standing with your back to the installation so you can become a giant butterfly yourself!”
For more information
Email [email protected]
Follow the project on Twitter #OutandAboutQTM
Visit the project website: outandabout.exeter.ac.uk
