The UK's First LGBTQ+ Museum Is Finally Opening

The UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum is finally set to open. Located in the heart of central London, the Queer Britain museum is intended as an “essential” place for all people — regardless of their sexuality or gender identity — to explore the rich history and culture of the UK’s LGBTQ+ community. If you’d like to visit Queer Britain, find everything you need to know about the first-of-its-kind museum, below.

The official Queer Britain site notes that “queer people have impacted every part of culture, yet all too often their lives have been written in the margins of history books.” With the opening of the museum, LGBTQ+ people in the UK now have a dedicated space for their community’s valuable stories and artifacts to be “preserved, explored and celebrated.”

Queer Britain will officially open its doors to the public at 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London on Thursday, May 5.

Speaking to PinkNews, the museum’s Director, Joseph Galliano, discussed the significance of Queer Britain being made available for young LGBTQ+ people in particular, who will now have the opportunity to learn more about a history that might otherwise be lost.

“I want people to feel like they’re connected to a deeper heritage, that they haven’t just emerged from nowhere,” Galliano said. “I want people to look backwards in order to be able to understand who they are now. So that we can all imagine the best of all possible futures together.”

Celebrating the opening of Queer Britain, Galliano also discussed how he hopes the museum will attract cis, straight visitors, too. “I want them to recognise their siblings... I want people to come away being stronger allies than they might have been when they came in.”

He continued, “I keep coming back to the idea of a young person who’s just come out to their parents. I want this to be a place that they can both come to together. Both feel like they are part of it.”