New exhibition outlines how LGBTQ+ performers shaped popular culture
A new exhibition is to open next Spring which will examine the profound influence of LGBTQ+ performers, artists and activists on mainstream popular culture.
Influenced by the recently published book The Secret Public - How LGBTQ Performers Shaped Popular Culture 1955 - 1979 by Jon Savage, the exhibition will present key pieces from Savage鈥檚 extensive collection of archive and research materials which form part of the housed at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library.
The exhibition will foreground the artists, figures, social issues and political discourse from within which a lasting creative explosion happened, and which is still felt today.
It extends the date range of the book through to 1984, a peak year for 鈥楪ay Pop鈥�, and will showcase rare materials from the archive alongside connected materials from the Rylands world-leading special collections.
The Secret Public will be the inaugural exhibition in the newly refurbished Special Exhibition gallery, part of the project, a major redevelopment and improvement programme that will enrich and transform the researcher and visitor experience.
These materials have been collected over a forty year period, and represent one of the largest private queer archives in the country. I am very pleased to announce that they are now within the British Pop Archive.