Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales is hosting a packed programme of exhibitions, events and activities to celebrate Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month (LGBT) during February.
At National Museum Cardiff, People, Personalities and Power: Faces from Wales is a display of Welsh portraits from the museum’s collection to celebrate LGBT History Month on display until Sunday 8 May.
The display will include recently acquired photographs by Angus McBean (1904-1990), including a surreal self-portrait by McBean and a pair of portraits of legendary Welsh actor and playwright Emlyn Williams. Angus McBean’s biographer and close friend, Adrian Woodhouse, will be delivering a talk on McBean’s work on Friday 11 February, 1.05pm.
The talk will discuss how McBean’s sexual orientation influenced his photography and how he created sensational images of famous women and impossibly glamorous pictures of men. As well as discussing McBean’s famous images of stars like Audrey and Katherine Hepburn, Mae West, Elizabeth Taylor and Shirley Bassey, Adrian Woodhouse will be bringing along Angus’s superb prints of male beauties in their prime like Howard Keel and Laurence Olivier as well as complete unknowns. Other newly acquired works by McBean will also be on display nearby, including celebrated images of The Beatles, Shirley Bassey and Vivien Leigh as well as lesser known portraits of his family and friends.
Other portraits at National Museum Cardiff on display to celebrate LGBT History Month will include a striking image of Welsh artist Cedric Morris (1889-1982) by Lucian Freud, amongst others. Clare Smith, from the Museum’s art department will be giving a lunchtime talk, An Introduction to the display of Welsh portraits to celebrate LGBT History Month on Friday 18 February, 1.05pm.
There will be a special evening lecture at National Museum Cardiff on Ancient Greek Homosexuality on Thursday 10 February, 6pm. Join Professor Nick Fisher, Emeritus of Ancient History, Cardiff School of History and Archaeology to find out how did the different states in classical Greece view homosexual desire and love in different ways. How and why did they pass laws regulating homosexual acts? Booking essential, places limited; (029) 2057 3148.
At the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon the ‘We are Family’ exhibition, from 17 January to 13 May explores the theme of families and sexuality in the Roman World. Roman families were just as diverse as those today so come and find out more and think about what a family means to you!
At St Fagans: National History Museum, a group called Gay Ammanford will be displaying objects that are important to them in the Community Dresser, 1-28 February.
Academi in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales and the LGBT Excellence Centre will be hosting a free event during LGBT History Month 2011. Short Stories, Poems and Songs with Paul Burston will take place at St Fagans: National History Museum on Saturday 12 February, 14.00-15.00. Celebrated author, Paul Burston will be presenting the event which will include performances from the Rainbow Group in Torfaen exploring young people’s identity through literature. For further information please contact Academi on 029 2047 2266 or by email [email protected].
To mark LGBT History Month, visitors to National Waterfront Museum in Swansea will be able to create their own colourful rainbow heart decoration on 12 & 13 February, 1pm-4pm.
Claire Thomas, Amgueddfa Cymru’s Diversity Officer, said, “Amgueddfa Cymru is delighted to be celebrating LGBT History Month for the first time in 2011. We’ve recently joined Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme making us the first Museum to do so and what better way to celebrate than to hold a variety of exciting events at some of our museums.”
