That the sitter was a lesbian is clearly on record as was the furore caused around the publication of her novel The Well of Loneliness (1928), which makes the argument for lesbian rights and same-sex marriage. A decade after this portrait was painted, her work would be banned …
The name Terence Higgins sits on queer people's lips with both pride and poignancy. Terence’s biography as a House of Commons Hansard reporter, barman and DJ is largely overshadowed by him being one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS-related illness …
Meet the Chevalier, a part of early 19th-century fashionable London society. A French diplomat, soldier, spy, celebrity fencer, performer and author, d’Eon lived and dressed throughout their life as both a man and woman. A source of fascination, people placed bets on …
The camaraderie of a football team is as strong today as it’s ever been. It’s often captured in a classic pose, arms folded and shoulder to shoulder with team mates. This one was captured by socially engaged photographer Marge Bradshaw who has spent time taking portraits …
Sculpted over 2000 years ago, this sculpture turned up in a bin bag and was called in by a member of the public. It's nearly 80cm tall, so doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would accidentally fall into the household recycling …
How clever to create an exhibition about something we walk on every day – soil. There’s a whole world down there, hidden away. Scientific explanations of what lies under our feet are all very well, but this creative and visually attractive response to the subject of soil is very attractive to me …
29 January is the start of the Year of the Snake. This enchanting beast’s skeleton is on display in Chinese zodiac cultural relics joint exhibition at the museum. Some 50 snake specimens and a large number of snake-related cultural relics …
One of the first musical acts to have a video game tie-in was a queer band who’d already hit the headlines. When a gaming company so prominently featured a band who’d had a controversial run in the press, we might wonder …
Today, the Blasket Islands are uninhabited. This newspaper article documents the decline in population, leading to their abandonment in 1954. These images have an air of melancholy about them, especially the boy and his dog, shy and unsure about what the future holds …
While the world tells us that the new year means we all ought to be leaping into new ventures, the image of January in this panel seems to show a tired bearded man, warming his hands by the fire. According to this wooden panel, probably from the early 1700s …
It’s refreshing when museums invite visitors to vote on a meaningful and relevant question – and one which can have impact on the future of the display. The recent Work in Progress exhibition involved a series of interactive prototype exhibits …
With its dragons, daffodils and leeks, this is an undeniably Welsh object. Caernarfon blankets, sometimes called Pwllheli blankets are something of an oddity in Welsh textiles. In the centre here is a picture of the Old College …
Mix up cream cheese, cheddar and blue cheeses, Worcestershire sauce, and minced onion, chill the mixture and shape it into a Christmas tree. Perhaps it’s not that disgusting, but then it’s one of the tamer items in the Disgusting Food Museum, a pioneering institution dedicated to …
This exhibition is titled in English and the endangered Nordic language of Southern Sámi. No equivalent word exists for ‘film’ in this language, interestingly the closest translation is ‘Life within an image’. The film itself slowly documents the 360-degree panoramic …
“Think of me” reads the inscription on this pin cushion, made by a soldier recovering from the First World War. It’s a poignant memento of a moment in time that points to the folklore, art and customs of the local area …
The name of this artist remains anonymous, but the subject is clear to see. Made in a secure children’s home, the artist is putting their tag on clear display for us. What do they want us to understand or feel about tagging children? …
Is this street sloping up or downhill? Harold Riley wrote “I played with pictures of streets. I can’t tell if it’s going up or down, Some think it’s going down to the sea, or rising up to the hills. I like to play this trick. I find it interesting.” Like his friend, associate and local Salford artist L. S. Lowry …
There’s more to any (half-decent) heritage site visit than reading. Engage the visitors’ senses and you’ll encourage them not only to interact with your site, but also to take in information in a different ways. And that always leads to better outcomes for your audiences …
So proud are the people of Chesterfield of George Stephenson that they held not only these celebrations outside the market hall in 1881 (marking the centenary of his birth) but also further festivities in 1948 on the centenary of his death …
We know very little about Molly. She was baptised in November 1764 in the Priory Church close to the Judges’ Lodgings and was buried just a month later. It’s likely she was intended to live as a servant, free or enslaved, with a local merchant family. In the same year …
The interpretation doesn’t have much detail on these pots, but the copy seeks to entice us into the display: “Colours can dazzle us, inspire us and calm us. Cherry blossom pink, chestnut brown, sky blue: the way we describe a colour can help us imagine it …
The famous battle took place in 1066 on this day, but not where you think. And The Bayeux Tapestry isn’t even a tapestry. With its countless details embroidered on linen cloth, the embroidery (not tapestry) …
Regarded by many as the single most important document in Thai history, this object is not without controversy. The pillar features inscriptions which have traditionally been regarded as the earliest example of the Thai script. Discovered in 1833 by King Mongkut …
Antinous was the so-called ‘favourite’ of Roman Emperor Hadrian. But we know it was more than just favouritism. You don’t turn your best friend into a god, create a cult in their name and make a statue like this, shown here as Dionysus, the god of wine. They were lovers ...
Perhaps the last thing I expected to find in a Nazi documentation centre were Minnie and Mickey Mouse Pride toys. But in an exhibition about the pushback against Anti-feminism, it's a good conversation starting object ...
Museums can be so straight at first sight. But it doesn’t take too long looking at these characters to realise that the one in a dress has rather impressive sideburns, mutton chops even. Subverting and celebrating at the same time ...
The River Thames, full of evocative atmosphere, mysterious light and radiant colour as captured by someone who understood exactly how to replicate the effects of light on the canvas. It’s on display in London, just a few metres from where Monet made the painting ...
An oil rig is a little like the tip of an iceberg – only a little is visible over the horizon, leaving our imagination to fill in what’s under the water. It’s just that one is being destroyed by climate change and the other is part of the network of problems that have led us to the planetary crisis ...
Getting into costume allows us to step into another character, to put on a show. Picasso was intrigued by performance – bullfighting but also concerts, cabaret, puppetry and costumed balls. As a parent, he dressed his kids up ...
“Seeing two men being intimate was something I never saw growing up in small town UK. I was 18 before I saw two men kissing, that was on TV and was just the briefest of pecks” writes a participant in a Queer interpretation project at the Whitworth …
