The exhibition, organised by Home Live Art and Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, features stories of joy, defiance, community, and survival collected by the Hastings Queer History Collective.
Lemons, Laws, and Secret Doors showcases research on Hastings’ LGBTQIA+ history over the last two hundred years, along with stories brought to life through fashion, sound, multimedia art, and a major new commission by Southeast artist Emma Frankland.
The History Collective’s grassroots approach to the exhibition offers a groundbreaking perspective on the formal history of British seaside towns. It celebrates a community with a rich and vibrant LGBTQIA+ scene that has not been historically documented in the area. Additionally, it connects this local history to broader LGBTQIA+ movements along the country’s south coast.
The new exhibition offers a vibrant look at LGBTQIA+ history, showcasing everything from a recreation of a 1980s community disco night in the caves beneath Hastings to the documentation of a queer Dungeons and Dragons group in Hastings and St Leonards. It spans from the 1800s to the present day, providing audiences with a rich perspective on the community’s evolution.
The Hastings Queer History Collective has dedicated significant effort to researching, curating, and creating materials that represent the queer community in Hastings over the past century. The exhibition showcases art and archival material from various parts of the town, including 1880s seaweed shops, hidden doors throughout Hastings, gender expression on the pier, and the “queer pheasant” that went viral online.
At its centre, the exhibition will present a brand-new artwork by award-winning writer, theatre-maker and artist Emma Frankland. The piece focuses on Emma’s fascination with sign writing, inspired by the history of political signs and slogans on placards around the world. Emma Franklin told QX, “I wanted to honour the energy and clarity that comes with the protest sign in this work and give something that is usually ephemeral a more permanent place as an artwork.. At a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are once again under direct threat, the creation of this artwork draws on a powerful history of queer resistance. Emphasising in physical form the reality that ”we have ALWAYS been here”
Alongside the exhibition, a programme of events – including panels, performances, a picnic and a party – will be announced soon.
More details at
“We are LGBTQIA+ people living in this town today. What appears in this exhibition is shaped by our identities and perspectives. We are not separate from the queer heritage we foreground. We are part of it. There is no single way to be queer. There is no singular queer Hastings. What you encounter reflects both what has survived and what we have chosen to share. It gathers some of those lives together – not as the final word, but as one moment in an ongoing story of Hastings’ queer histories.”
Hastings Queer History Collective
More about Hastings Queer History Collective
Hastings Queer History Collective is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the queer history of Hastings. Established in 2020, the collective consists of an evolving group of volunteers, including artists, writers, graphic designers, filmmakers, community organisers, and researchers.
More about Home Live Art
Home Live Art fosters an environment in which artists and communities can explore ideas that challenge traditional boundaries, expanding what feels possible through collaboration. Their work occupies the intersection of live art, socially engaged practice, and community-led co-creation. In this process, artists, communities, and partners collaborate as equals rather than as mere participants, highlighting their commitment to a queer-led practice.
More About Hastings Museum & Art Gallery
Hastings Museum & Art Gallery is an award-winning National Portfolio Museum that aims to inspire creativity and connect communities with the cultural and natural heritage of Hastings. We are deeply committed to inclusivity and actively promote co-production with communities that have historically been underrepresented in museums.
Getting to Hastings:
Regular return trains services run from several London stations direct to Hastings in under 2hrs.
