Britain’s National LGBTQ+ Museum Announces New Patrons
Queer Britain National LGBTQ+ Museum has announced Elton John and David Furnish as new patrons, as well as unveiling its special program for 2025.
Queer Britain is honored to welcome legendary musician and philanthropist Elton John and his husband, film producer and Chair of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, David Furnish, as the museum’s newest patrons.
Speaking about their new patronage, Elton John and David Furnish said: “A lot of the UK’s LGBTQ+ history is unseen and unheard or has been purposefully hidden away. It’s wonderful to now have a UK museum dedicated to preserving and reclaiming LGBTQ+ history while inspiring future generations. It’s a museum for everyone—to learn, understand, and embrace what it means to be LGBTQ+ today. We are both delighted to support Queer Britain as Patrons.”
Queer Britain has also announced five special temporary exhibitions for 2025 running alongside the permanent collection:
JIMMY SOMERVILLE AND BRONSKI BEAT (12 March – 25 May).
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Bronski Beat’s seminal album “Age of Consent”, this exhibition showcases new materials donated by Jimmy Somerville, including ACT-UP campaign T-shirts, a customized Levi’s jacket, typed lyrics, and promotional posters for their hit ‘Smalltown Boy’, which Rolling Stone magazine last year included in the top fifty protest songs of all time.
Visitors will also be able to view Why? (2024), a powerful reimagined video for Bronski Beat’s seminal LGBTQ+ anthem directed by Matt Lambert. Jimmy Somerville, musician and activist, said: “This isn’t about me. It’s about a time and place and the politics and life as a gay man. Time passed and so did laws and attitudes. Fast forward and here we are today a time full of hate, discrimination and the rolling back of laws and attitudes, in some places I never dreamed it could happen. So today, like back in the day, take nothing for granted and be visible and be loud …. WE’RE HERE, WE’RE QUEER…GET OVER IT!!!”
20 YEARS OF UK BLACK PRIDE (4 June – 31 August)
Curated in collaboration with UK Black Pride and their founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (Lady Phyll), this exhibition chronicles the movement’s evolution from a small gathering in 2004 to the world’s largest celebration for LGBTQI+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American, and Middle Eastern descent. This exhibition will coincide with UK Black Pride which returns to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 10 August 2025.
TERRY HIGGINS MEMORIAL QUILT (11 – 15 June)
Marking what would have been Terry Higgins’ 80th birthday, Queer Britain will host the memorial quilt, developed by Terrence Higgins Trust and The Quilters’ Guild, on display to the public in London for the first time. The quilt features eight magnificent panels, representing different elements of Terry’s life, celebrating his legacy and aims to engage as many people as possible in where we are today with the opportunity to end new HIV cases in the UK by 2030.
Richard Angell OBE, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “For many years at Terrence Higgins Trust we worked in the name of Terry but without fully telling his story. This quilt is a literal rich tapestry of his life. It speaks to the experiences of so many queer people, from growing up in a small town, to finding his identity through friendship, community, work and music.
TOP BY CLAYE BOWLER (10 September – 23 November)
Queer Britain is delighted to bring this important work to London for the first time following its debut at the Henry Moore Institute in 2022. A deeply personal exhibition exploring the artist’s seven-year journey through the UK’s healthcare system to access gender-affirming top surgery. Drawings, films, photographs, letters, sculptures, collections make up an archive of the emotions and physicality of being trans.
Claye Bowler, artist, said: “When creating Top, I initially thought it was about dysphoria, but through sharing it and engaging with visitors during its first showing, I realized it’s actually a celebration of being trans and overcoming struggle. I’m excited to share the work again with Queer Britain visitors, allowing people to experience this joy again. The work also comments on queerness in a museum context, of the purpose of museums, and of collecting objects. As the first museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ stories, Queer Britain offers the perfect context for this work to resonate and question these ideas.”
A NEW CHAPTER
With newly appointed Museum Director Andrew Given (formerly of English National Opera) at the helm, Queer Britain is entering an exciting new chapter.
Andrew Given said: “Walking through our galleries never fails to inspire, as I see the record of activism and change that our community has achieved. But there are so many stories yet to be told. That’s why we are delighted to announce this exciting program of exhibitions —ensuring that Queer Britain continues to be a vital space for all LGBTQ+ stories.”
