Book on the Conway Hall website

Through photographs, oral histories, newspapers and ephemera of all kinds, the LGBT Humanists archive tells a story of political struggles and community building since 1979. Amid campaigns on topics such as blasphemy, marriage, and conversion therapy, inclusive spaces emerged for social activities and creative expression, through both events and the circulation of ephemera by LGBT Humanists (first known as the Gay Humanist Group).

In this exhibition, open 10:00-18:00 each day, we honour LGBT Humanists as a pioneering organisation that established places for the non-religious to freely express their gender and sexuality. Expect protest imagery, snapshots of lively group gatherings, testimonies from LGBT Humanists members, as well as equally amusing and inspiring articles and illustrations from the community's newsletter.

In the current climate of false narratives surrounding the supposed modernity of LGBT communities and activism, this project is a timely showcase of long humanitarian histories. Connections will be drawn between, for example, the work of Humanists UK today to campaign against conversion therapy, the Gay News trial that spurred the foundation of LGBT Humanists, and the Molly House proprietors who defended their customers against religiously-motivated homophobic persecution in eighteenth-century London. This speculative approach is inspired by the series of talks hosted by LGBT Humanists in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s that explored LGBT humanist interpretations of historical figures, including a talk on Mother Clap's Molly House in 2002. Contemporary LGBT artists have been invited to create their own spectacular illustrations of these historical humanists, who have been chosen for their power to inspire LGBT Humanists today.

This event is organised as part of the LGBT strand of the National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported project ‘Humanist Heritage: Doers, Dreamers, Place Makers’, coordinated by Humanists UK in partnership with Conway Hall.

Please note that these exhibition tickets do not include entry to the opening on 11 July or the fair on 13 July. You can still use your ticket for the exhibition on 13 July, but you would need to purchase a separate ticket to enter the rest of the fair.