The Knowledge Quarter is delighted to invite staff from Knowledge Quarter organisations to the next in our series of private tours. It will be on this occasion hosted at the British Library. KQ staff and partner organisations will have the opportunity to have an exclusive curator tour of Gay UK: Love, Law and Liberty.

About Gay UK: Love, Law and Liberty

1895, the trial of Oscar Wilde. 2017, the pardoning of gay men by the ‘Alan Turing Law’. How far have we come in 122 years?

Personal testimony. Public protest. Art and culture. Tells the story of love, legislative change and the battles for equality experienced by gay men and women in the UK. 50 years after the Sexual Offences Act partially decriminalised homosexuality, the exhibition looks at the build up to this monumental step, its impact, and asks what challenges still remain.

Listen to oral histories. Explore Sarah Waters’s manuscript notebook for Tipping the Velvet. Take a closer look at the diary of Kenneth Williams. Film, original manuscripts and rare printed items trace a history of troubles and triumphs for gay people. Other items on display include the 1957 Wolfenden Report, the Gay Liberation Front Manifesto, and vinyl from the Pet Shop Boys.

How have perceptions of homosexuality changed and what impact have they had in creating distinctive and dynamic gay identities in the UK?

Registration: Please click here to book your place.