York Art Gallery and the York LGBT Forum have teamed up to share the stories of LGBTQ people in a new project.
They have been working together to ‘queer’ the Burton Gallery – by re-displaying artwork from a LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) perspective.
The initiative Queering the Burton was launched earlier this month and coincides with LGBTQ History Month, but it will be an ongoing project past February to spotlight queer stories.
Visitors will be able to explore the stories which draw on LGBT Forum participants original research, as well as creative responses to the art which are inspired by lived experience.
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York LGBT Forum is a charity which aims to improve LGBT rights in York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom and across the world.
Reyahn King, chief executive officer at York Museums Trust, said: “We’re so grateful for the partnership we have formed with York LGBT Forum for our Queering the Burton project.
“The project has also shed light on histories that are missing from York Art Gallery collections and through this collaboration and the formation of the York Museums Trust Allies Group, we have identified our priorities for future collecting and displays.”
The York Museum Trust aims to make the gallery an inclusive and welcoming space for everyone.
Some of the featured artwork
Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929) Head of Leander, 1890 
Young Woman in a Red Shawl by Gwen John 
Saint Sebastian by Juan Carreno de Miranda 
Decoration: Morning by Ethel Walker
Jake Furby, trustee of York LGBT Forum said: “We are proud to work with York Art Gallery on the Queering the Burton project, as this gives some life and history to LGBTQIA+ artists who would be forgotten, mislabelled, or even ignored.”
Over the coming months, the initiative will also provide a space for events and interventions to share as many LGBTQ stories as possible.
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Sarah Greenwood, creative learning producer at York Art Gallery said: “Part of the beauty of a gallery collection, lies in its ability to be read by more than one gaze and unlock more than one story.
“Launching appropriately in LGBT History month, our yearlong – and ongoing – initiative is spotlighted in Queering the Burton, where there is more than one story. More than one gaze. More than one way to live.”
York Art Gallery invites everyone to visit the gallery and reflect on their own experience of gender and sexuality in response to the project.
Entry to the gallery is free, but booking is advised. Book your tickets here.