A new exhibition is to open next Spring which will examine the profound influence of LGBTQ+ performers, artists and activists on mainstream popular culture.
Influenced by the recently published book The Secret Public – How LGBTQ Performers Shaped Popular Culture 1955 – 1979 by Jon Savage, the exhibition will present key pieces from Savage’s extensive collection of archive and research materials which form part of the British Pop Archive housed at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library.
The exhibition will foreground the artists, figures, social issues and political discourse from within which a lasting creative explosion happened, and which is still felt today.
It extends the date range of the book through to 1984, a peak year for ‘Gay Pop’, and will showcase rare materials from the archive alongside connected materials from the Rylands world-leading special collections.
The Secret Public will be the inaugural exhibition in the newly refurbished Special Exhibition gallery, part of the John Rylands Next Chapter project, a major redevelopment and improvement programme that will enrich and transform the researcher and visitor experience.
