National Museums Liverpool are marking LGBT+ History Month this February, with a range of events, activities and new online content.
The museums are set to explore the untold stories of LGBT+ people across the Liverpool City Region and beyond with events ranging from a panel discussion exploring religion to interactive story time sessions for families.
The programme includes Queer Creatives: Art and Activism which features three local creatives who use their work to amplify the voices of the community.
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The work of one of these artists, Ben Youdan, was recently targeted in Liverpool City Centre as part of a recent spate of homophobic and transphobic incidents across the city.
Meanwhile, the Christianity and LGBT+ Lives panel discussion will showcase a range of life experiences from LGBT+ Christians.
The LGBT+ Histories hub on the National Museums Liverpool (NML) website gives visitors the chance to delve into insightful interviews, opinion pieces, art history and hidden stories.
This includes an interview with Police Officer Christian Owens about his experience of transitioning whilst working in Merseyside Police force.
Claire Benjamin, head of learning and participation at NML, said: “Liverpool’s LGBT+ history is long and diverse – the city has been at the epicentre of some of the most important leaps forward in the struggle for LGBT+ rights, including the first legal same sex marriage in a place of worship in 2012.
"Despite landmark moments such as these, there is of course still progress to be made and the city is still reeling from a series of homophobic and transphobic attacks in 2021.
“We are so excited to be able to showcase a series of contributions from members of Liverpool’s LGBT+ community, responding artistically to the important people, places, and events in their lives.
"From the links between religion and sexuality in one of our live panel discussions to exciting new online content, we hope that everybody can find something to inspire them throughout February.”
National Museums Liverpool’s programme of events for LGBT+ History Month is as follows:
Big Chat Series: Christianity and LGBT Lives
Merseyside was the birthplace of the True Freedom Trust, a founding member of Exodus International - an arm of the world’s largest ‘ex-gay’ organisation, and as late as 2018 a church in Liverpool was offering a ‘gay conversion programme’ that consisted of three days of starvation and prayer.
In this conversation, guests will hear the stories of our three panelists – Chris Butler, Sister Maria Renate and Kieran Bohan – as they talk through some of their shared experiences and discuss whether having a Christian faith is compatible with being LGBT+.
Museum of Liverpool, 12 February 2022 – 1-3pm
Queer Creatives: Art and Activism
In this event guests will hear from Ben Youdan, Lo Tierney and Dan Chan - three local creatives who use their work in different ways to make the LGBTQ+ community and their issues more visible and to campaign for a more equal society, following recent homophobic and transphobic incidents in Liverpool over the past year.
Museum of Liverpool, 19 February 2022 – 1-3pm
Storytime with Mama G
Family stories aimed at younger visitors to celebrate LGBT+ History month with the fabulous Mama G. Guests can join in the fun with singing and actions with stories about love, identity, acceptance and celebration.
Museum of Liverpool, 26 February 2022 – 11am-12pm, 1-2pm and 3-4pm
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