My intention?” Molly instantly thought again of Edith’s gravestone. The absence of her achievements or mention of who she might have loved or been loved by. Molly took a deep breath. “I want visitors to know that love between women exists throughout history. I want to correct the omission of this truth in the museum and in our public consciousness. What’s more, I want Edith to be able to recognize herself in her display. For her to say that’s me—that is my work, that is my passion, that is my love. You have captured me as I see myself.
Love’s Portrait by Anna Larner
Museums Are The Tellers Of Our Stories.
Museums are more than just places where objects are preserved and displayed. They are the interpreters of our past, and the mediators of our understanding. They are the tellers of our stories and the architects of our narratives. They tell us what we have achieved, what we are achieving, and what by inference we can achieve. They reflect our identity back to us, like a mirror; this is us, this is you.
But what happens if you don’t recognise the you on display? What happens if you is somewhere lost in the silence, in the gap between what is said and what has been omitted, what is preserved and what has been forgotten? These are the questions my must-read lesbian romance book Love’s Portrait explores.
Love’s Portrait
Love’s Portrait’s heroines, Molly Goode and Georgina Wright, with passion and conviction, replace the silence with questions that challenge the status quo. Where are the minority voices they ask, the untold stories, those hidden histories? And vitally how do we stop these omissions from persisting into the future?
For fiction offers a space to ask questions and to envisage change. It provides us with a vision for where the boundaries between the imagined and real can be crossed and where and how progress beyond the page can be made.
Hidden Histories – LGBTQ+
Ultimately Love’s Portrait reminds us that museums, like history, belong to us all. So, let’s replace the silence with our heartfelt LGBTQ+ stories, and share them proudly far and wide.
I’ve been privileged to be part of a local Heritage Lottery funded project called LGBTQ+ Oral History – Untold Stories recording the oral histories of older LGBTQ+ people in the Leicestershire area.
QUEER BRITAIN
Happily, here in the UK, we now have LGBTQ+ representation in a museum in the form of Queer Britain.
Co-founded in 2018 by Joseph Galliano, Queer Britain now has its first physical home in King’s Cross. The museum is a celebration of queer culture, providing an insight into the communities rich and complex histories.
The space is free entry and open to everyone to discover the stories and experiences of LGBTQ+ people throughout the UK and beyond, offering a dedicated space for the culture to be preserved, explored and celebrated.
Location: 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London N1C 4BH
anna larner 