Museum of Liverpool - Tales from the City
Museum of Liverpool - Tales from the City Exhibition
In March 2019, a bunch of our LGBTQIA+ identifying Comics Youth young people came with us to the Museum of Liverpool to visit the Tales from the City exhibition. Put on to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, this exhibition was an exploration through Liverpool’s Queer history from 1967-2017.
Tales from the City included stories from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people who have lived experiences of queer life in Liverpool, told through photographs, objects, costume, art, film, personal items, memorabilia, zines, newspaper clippings, posters and recordings. Most told of how national events such as Section 28, civil partnerships, marriage equality and age of consent equality impacted the local LGBT scene and the effect it had on them.
The exhibition provided plenty of opportunity for our group of young people to reflect on a number of LGBTQIA+ issues both on a historical and a contemporary level.
For some, the experience of learning more about LGBTQIA+ history on a local level gave them some added perspective and context about how the current LGBTQIA+ scene in Liverpool has been developed. Including how hard LGBTQIA+ people fought for their rights to be who they are and to love who they want while reclaiming their city as a space they feel safe and welcomed in.
For others, the exhibition served as a powerful reminder that while the LGBTQIA+ community can be a supportive and positive one, that none of us can afford to take our current freedoms for granted. Though we’ve come a long way since many of the stories featured in the exhibition happened, some of the outdated and bigoted attitudes faced by the people telling these stories are sadly still prevalent in some parts of society today.
However, the majority of our young people all felt elevated by such a large and influential institution such as the Museum of Liverpool choosing to support and showcase these stories. While in discussion following the trip, we acknowledged that though it’s frustrating that much of LGBTQIA+ history has been ignored by the mainstream on a local and national level, that the right steps are finally being taken in rectifying such ignorance and allowing LGBTQIA+ people to build and share an archive of their experiences.
Marginalised communities have often been denied the opportunity to share their histories and correct the stories that have often left them out of critical narratives. We need to continue to push for these narratives to be given a broader platform so that society can continue to grow and hopefully nurture a safer and more tolerant society for future generations.
The young people at Comics Youth were all inspired by the exhibition to feel more comfortable in expressing who they are within Liverpool and via artistic mediums (such as writing, music, or artwork). And in this way they hope to inspire further generations to experience the same.
