The rainbow cube : a survey of lesbian, gay, and bisexual art in contemporary art museums in the United Kingdom and United States of America

Abstract

This paper researches the current state of lesbian, gay, and bisexual artists in contemporary art collections. The purpose was to discover if museums collect based on sexuality, and if they change displays in exhibitions to be more open about an artists’ sexuality. Gay liberation and homophile movements of the 20th century and queer politics in the 21st century have pushed minority sexualities to the fore of public consciousness, but it is important to define which practices are effective in bringing about meaningful change, and which ones are paying lip service to the politics.

Through a survey sent to institutions in the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, respondents were asked for demographic information about themselves and their institutions, and then longer questions about their opinions on collecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual artists, displaying them, and any feedback they may have gotten from visitors, activist groups, or their peers regarding these works. I had anticipated that opinions would differ based on location, sexual orientation, age, and institutional funding source. In fact, age and location played a larger role than sexual orientation and funding sources. Age groups were important in relation to generational curatorial practices, and location played a role in political and social considerations.

Overall, museums were more likely to take on explicit collection and display of lesbian, gay, and bisexual artists if they had the resources to research their own collections more in-depth or if they could accession newer works to reflect the needs of their communities. Museums are interested in doing the important work of research and exhibition of minority sexualities but find it difficult to devote the time and funding to the massive task. Museums that do not have their own collections, or do not have the resources to update their collections, succeed through programming and events.