The newest exhibit at the Sidney Museum is bringing to light local LGBT+ history in and around the Saanich Peninsula.
The “Reading Between the Lines for Local Queer History” exhibit features information about local queer history, as well as David Tuff’s film Are We Going Backwards?, and items from The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria.
“We are thankful for the opportunity to express the Sidney Museum’s position as an ally to the LGBT+ community,” said Michael Goodchild, executive director of the Sidney Museum, in a release Wednesday.
“Too often, queer narratives are excluded from traditional museum spaces and public knowledge. This display is an important part in our efforts to diversify Sidney Museum’s exhibits and provide an inclusive space that represents all the people of the Saanich Peninsula,” he said.
HIV and AIDS on the Saanich Peninsula
Falling within Pride month is HIV Long-Term Survivors Day, which is observed annually every June 5.
The Sidney Museum’s queer history exhibit also includes a section on AIDS on the Saanich Peninsula, showcasing the hard work and activism that was necessary to make HIV survivable.
At the same time, organizers say this awareness day also makes it evident how much more work is needed to de-stigmatize this illness, prevent its spread, and allow its survivors to live happy, healthy lives.
Pride pop-up exhibit
The Sidney Museum will also be participating in multiple Pride events, including the Sidney Pride Festival on June 15 and Pride Night at the Sidney Street Market on June 13, featuring a pop-up version of the exhibit along with interactive activities such as button making and blackout poetry to engage with local Pride history.
Visitors will be able to make free button inspired by the Pride buttons on display at the Sidney Museum or come up with designs or their own.
The blackout poetry activity will allow visitors to take homophobic and problematic articles from The Review’s archives and reclaim them through poetry.
The exhibit will remain on display at the Sidney Museum throughout June, which is Pride Month, after which it will become a part of the permanent upstairs gallery.
The Sidney Museum is located at 2423 Beacon Ave., in the lower level of the Old Post Office building. It’s open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Harry Corro
