New LGBTQ+ Museum Set to Open in 2024
New York’s oldest museum will soon expand to incorporate a museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history. The New-York Historical Society will expand by 70,000 square feet to include space for The American LGBTQ+ Museum, slated to open its doors in 2024.
It will be New York City’s first museum dedicated to global, national, and local LGBTQ+ history and culture. Visitors to the forthcoming museum will be enlightened, entertained, and exposed to our culture. That means telling the story of LGBTQ+ people as well as commemorating and celebrating our journey, and inspiring people.
“LGBTQ+ history is especially urgent because our communities have emerged from denial, repression, and invisibility into acceptance, pride, and full societal participation. This Museum helps forge the future by documenting our past,” said Urvashi Vai, secretary, the American LGBTQ+ Museum.
We’re all about diversity and inclusivity at Vacationer Magazine, so we’re excited that they will use exhibitions and programs to advance LGBTQ+ equality and tell our stories via the lens of social justice movements, including, but not limited to, race, gender, immigration, and disability.
Currently, the museum conducts online events through its website. Museum leaders hope to begin staging physical exhibitions next year, in partnership with the Historical Society and other cultural institutions throughout the city, according to Richard Burns, The American LGBTQ+ Museum’s board chair.
Museum leaders are also working with various local, national, and international LGBTQ+ organizations to acquire items to include in the museum, but guests won’t get the standard museum experience of strolling around looking at historical photos. Expect immersive experiential activities and exploratory experiences that will engage the senses and special areas provided for visitors to relax and have moments of reflection.
In September, Mayor Bill De Blasio, Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, and other VIP guests such as tennis pro and activist Billy Jean King, spoke at the ceremony to break ground for the new LGBTQ+ museum.
The museum will be one of many cultural projects dedicated to shining a light on LGBTQ history similar to the Stonewall Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, San Francisco’s GLBT Historical Society, and Berlin’s Gay Museum.
Visit the American LGBTQ+ Museum’s website for more information about its upcoming events and exhibitions, and how you can support the forthcoming museum.
