Museum of weird gay people
Home / gay topics / Museum of weird gay people
This extensive archive spans various mediums—painting, sculpture, photography, and more—showing that queer artists throughout history leave no canvas unpainted.
Australian Queer Archives – Melbourne (Australia)
Heading down under, Australian Queer Archives (formerly ALGA) offers an impressive collection of records, photos, and memorabilia, celebrating the rich history of LGBTQIA+ communities in Australia.
One thing is certain though—his work defied norms and gender expectations in a way that is unmistakably queer. Recent exhibitions have included collaborations with community groups, such as We Are LGBTQIA+ ESEA, which celebrated the contributions and narratives of East and Southeast Asian LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art – New York (US)
Tucked away in Soho, New York City, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is an iconic LGBTQIA+ institution.
So, from Stonewall archives to modern gay art exhibitions, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 LGBTQ museums in the world offering up gay culture and insight into all things queer, wherever you are in the world.
Luxury Beyond Convention
At Mr Hudson, we understand that true luxury lies in the freedom to explore the world exactly as you envision it.
Schwules Museum, Berlin, Germany
Widely regarded as the first ‘gay museum’ is the Schwules Museum in Berlin which traces its origins back to 1984 with a single exhibit inside the Berlin Museum. ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, USA
Aimed at promoting public awareness of LGBTQ issues through preservation is the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives in Los Angeles.
Pittsburgh in the US is one of the fortunate cities to host a huge collection of his original works that includes 900 paintings, 2,000 works on paper, 1,000 unique prints, 77 sculptures, 4,000 photographs and over 4,350 Warhol films and videotapes. Opened in 1974 and built on the ruins of a former theater, the museum was personally designed by Dalí and it shows because even the building is a work of bizzarity.
The inside doesn’t disappoint either as a labyrinth of spiral staircases, mirrored rooms, and immersive installations.
So, it's surprising the city took so long for it to have a dedicated LGBTQ+ museum. As a happy bonus, the archive’s West Hollywood satellite space hosts a range of ongoing art and history exhibits unseen anywhere else.
Venice Beach | Photo: Adam Berkecz
5. The country was late to join the global movement towards LGBTQI+ visibility and rights.
It also holds the largest collection of Dalí’s works, including all sorts of weird and wonderful paintings, sculptures, and mechanical devices. What’s more, the museum doubles as a club, holding events like fetish film nights, kinky storytelling sessions, and leather nights.
Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library – Fort Lauderdale (US)
The Stonewall uprising of 1969 was the Big Bang of modern LGBTQ+ rights, and Fort Lauderdale’s Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library (SNMAL) ensures its legacy is never forgotten through an extensive collection of LGBTQ+ literature, artifacts, and historical documents.
As well as a rotating series of exhibitions, it houses a few permanent fixtures, including a Timeline of American LGBTQIA+ History, chronicling significant events and milestones in the LGBTQIA+ community, and the John C.
Graves Library, one of the largest LGBTQIA+ lending libraries in the United States. Launching their ‘hall of fame’ shortly after basketballer Jason Collins became the first out NBA player in its history, the museum has since added a number of stars and organisations to its line-up, including Billie Jean King, Greg Louganis and the Chicago Cubs for being the first professional franchise to host an LGBTQ awareness day back in 2001.
Art Institute of Chicago | Photo: Gina Samarotto
8.
Leslie+Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York, USA
Named after their New Yorker founders Fritz Lohman and Charles Leslie, the Leslie+Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art is the result of decades of struggles and opposition, starting with a small 1969 exhibition that took place in their Soho loft.
Under the vague law that allowed punishment for ‘offending public morality’, police officers harassed LGBTQI+ people on the streets, in bars, and wherever else they felt compelled to. Beginning life as a library in 1984, the Stonewall museum has since grown steadily, amassing over 30,000 artworks, historical materials, records and ephemera all related to the Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York City.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that it houses the first-ever museum in the world dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.
Opened in 1985, the Schwules Museum unearths the hidden narratives of LGBTQ+ lives through art, photography, and archives. The jury is still on that one, but he certainly had experiences with men.