Queer Spaces: London, 1980s to today

Co-curated by UCL Urban Laboratory, this exhibition focuses on rarely seen archives of LGBTQ+ venues and social networks collated during our research on queer night spaces, led by Prof Ben Campkin and Lo Marshall. An interactive map charts the appearance and disappearance of spaces over the last 30 years.

Among the featured case studies are the London Lesbian and Gay Centre and Black Lesbian and Gay Centre, both running in the 1980s and ‘90s; Glass Bar (1995–2008), a space in Euston for anyone identifying as a woman; and venues such as The Joiners Arms, The Black Cap and The Royal Vauxhall Tavern that are the subject of current campaigns against redevelopment. Together, they reveal the radical inventiveness and creativity of London’s LGBTQ+ communities since the 1980s.

Whitechapel Gallery have also commisioned a series of artists to give their perspectives on 21st century cityscapes of sociability and self-expression, including Tom Burr (b. 1963, USA), Ralph Dunn (b. 1969, UK), Evan Ifekoya (b. 1988, Nigeria), Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings (both b. 1991, UK), Prem Sahib (b. 1982, UK).

For detailed information on opening times, please visit the Whitechapel Gallery website.