Abstract
In the spring of 2022, the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent launched the first LGBTQ+ themed fine art tour in Belgium to great success. Through works of art dating from the 15th to the mid-20th century, all of which are on permanent display in the galleries, the tour tells stories from LGTBQ+ history and mythology and discusses gender, attraction, and expression. It was entirely created by members of the LGBTQ+ community over the course of a year. The tour remains until now solely guided by members of the community, but was always intended to speak to a broader audience as well. This paper discusses the methodology used in its creation, its intended goals, and important lessons learned through focus groups and visitor feedback. It looks into its success after launch and the audiences it is reaching, but also examine its limitations as a way of bringing ‘untold stories’ to the foreground. Finally, the study shows how the tour turned out to be an important way of garnering internal support for new queer oriented programming, even coming so far as to putting a queer fine art exhibition on the museum agenda.
Presenters
Bart OogheDepartment Head, Communications and Public Programmes, Museum of Fine Arts Ghent, Belgium
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Museum Transformations: Pathways to Community Engagement
KEYWORDS
Queer, Education, Engagement
