National Museums Liverpool has been awarded a grant of over £91,000 to fund research into its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) collections in its art galleries at the Museum of Liverpool.
The £91,863 fund from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund will be used to support the development of existing collections.
The two-year project will help to realise the full potential of LGBT collections to ensure that objects and stories within these displays are fully researched, sensitively interpreted and made accessible online and through displays to a wide and diverse audience.
Calvin Fox, a gay and transgender icon to many in Liverpool, told JMU Journalism: “I was talking about this when I last visited the museum. There is nothing really about LGBT history anywhere in Liverpool.”
‘April Ashley: Portrait of a Lady’, which is at the Museum of Liverpool, and ‘David Hockney: Early Reflections at the Walker Art Gallery’ are two existing exhibitions which will be further developed and made more accessible.
Ann Bukantas, Head of Fine Art at National Museums Liverpool, said: “Working with LGBT collections is a relatively unexplored but vital subject for museums and galleries, and we are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this funding. It will make a real difference to how we understand, use and develop our LGBT collections.”
Gay Pride Liverpool organiser, Jamie Burrows, told JMU Journalism: “I’m so made up we’ve got this grant for our museums. People need to be educated about the history of the LGBT community and hopefully we can do this now.”
National Museums Liverpool will work collaboratively with Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove, which is based within one of the UK’s most prominent LGBT communities.
A spokesman for Royal Pavilion & Museums said: “This exciting project with the Royal Pavilion & Museums and National Museums Liverpool will build an important legacy, helping us to share knowledge not only with our communities, but with other museums.”