“Who had made us hate ourselves so much?”
New writing on queer history is turning to archives, like Bishopsgate Institute, to answer that question uncovering lives shaped by silence and resistance.
Read the full article in The Observer:
https://bit.ly/4usmhsS
The 1970s didn’t quieten the noise of the decade before. It gave it direction.
From punk’s raw edge to Rock Against Racism’s stages. From street protests to the rise of the Anti-Nazi League.
The helter-skelter didn’t stop. It organised.
Explore 1970s Britain in our Special Collections & Archives.
Our archive office holds the unexpected.
The personal. The curious. The outright bizarre.
Objects that make you pause.
That make you ask, “Why?”
That make you ask, “How did this end up here?”
This is where stories wait to be opened.
Step inside and see what you might uncover.
New to Bishopsgate Institute? We’d love to welcome you through our doors.
Using our archives is straightforward. Register, settle into the Rear Library, and our team will guide you to the material you want to see.
Curious? Plan your visit and start exploring.
March marks the kick-off of Let’s Dance, a nationwide call to the floor. From 6–8 March, Bishopsgate Institute hosts beginners’ classes open to all. No experience. No pressure. Just music and movement in a welcoming room. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it.
Link 👉 https://bit.ly/3OWs1dP
Clause 27. Clause 28. Section 28. Section 2A. Confused?
The 1988 law banned councils from “promoting homosexuality”, fuelling fear in schools and libraries.
Unions and LGBTQ+ activists fought back.
Explore the story in our Archives.
#LGBTHistoryMonth
A thank you to Aldgate Connect, supporters of Saturday’s Pink Jukebox Trophy.
As our local Business Improvement District, they support the businesses and cultural spaces that make Aldgate thrive. We’re proud to work together to keep community and creativity moving.
See you on the dance floor.
Did you know Paul McCartney once visited Bishopsgate Institute?
The walls and dressing rooms may have changed, but the curiosity? It's still here, there, and everywhere.
Roses are red. Violets are blue. Our archives are kinky. Who knew?💘
Join us for Kink in the Archive III, an after-hours delve into fetish history and collective curiosity.
📍 Saturday 14 February at Bishopsgate Institute.
🎟️ Tickets available here 👇 https://bit.ly/49WYo35
Still at the cottage? I know I am.
I had a lot of thoughts (still do) about Heated Rivarly as a Queer hockey fan. How does it sit with queer hockey fans? is it a force for activism?
Join me @bishopsgateinst.bsky.social to talk queer hockey!
www.bishopsgate.org.uk/whats-on/act...
Are you still at the Cottage?
Join me and @bishopsgateinst.bsky.social for an exploration of Heated Rivalry, Hockey Romance and what that can tell us about queer media, and it's activist side...
www.bishopsgate.org.uk/whats-on/act...
Some slogans belong to the past. Others feel like they never left.
A glimpse into the protest posters of Eddie Adams, visual echoes of resistance, solidarity and dissent.
Now held in our Special Collections, they speak across decades. Sometimes as relics, sometimes as reminders.
🎆 New Year’s Day? We’ve been interrupting it since 1895.
Bishopsgate Institute turns 131 today. Same date, every year.
Because why not launch a cultural institution on the most disruptive day of the year?
Here’s to another year of learning, dancing, questioning, and keeping London curious.
Our team's growing...
Bishopsgate Institute is where history lives, learning thrives and people come together. Right now, we’re hiring for three key roles:
🟡 Visitor Experience Team Lead
🟡 Deputy Operations Manager
🟡 Infrastructure & Facilities Manager
Curious?
Find out more: bit.ly/3KEoy1X
We’ve never been big on uniforms...
But these T-shirt’s might just change that.
Pictured: the Bishopsgate Institute team, proudly modelling our limited-edition UK Fetish Archive tees.
Made to celebrate history, these shirts are nearly gone.
🖤 Link: https://everpress.com/profile/uk-fetish-archive
Excellent word collection in our completely non-biased archival opinion.
We’re not saying dancing is time travel… but if swing, tango or ballroom in our gorgeous Great Hall doesn’t transport you, nothing will.
Come solo or bring a partner; the only requirement is a willingness to move.
Book via our website. https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/whats-on/search/ 🪩
Such an iconic moment in music history! It’s amazing how music has brought people together for causes that matter.
This is fantastic! Hope the ball was fun.
In this online session for World AIDS Day, we’ll explore how artists responded to fear, loss, and injustice and how their work shaped public memory and protest. From Keith Haring to Gay Sweatshop, these are stories of expression, resistance, and care. @emilygarside.bsky.social
📆 Wed 3 December👇
To mark World AIDS Day, we’re hosting a lunchtime session on the history of AIDS activism - from ACT UP to the Terrence Higgins Trust, and voices like Larry Kramer & Lisa Power.
📅 1 Dec, 12:30
📷 Gordon Rainsford
@emilygarside.bsky.social
This is how I feel when I post on Close Friends on insta
"Dear Friends, too busy to write a letter, so I am sending a postcard to a few of my friends to let them know they are not forgotten. W R Bradlaugh unites in Christian love to all."
W.R. Bradlaugh knew: connection doesn’t need to be complicated.
When the group chat’s too much, go Bradlaugh style.
Love seeing books and stories reaching every corner 👏
Always great to find humour in the archives.
Not just a pretty building. Inside, you notice the details: soft light, worn steps, carved railings. It wasn’t built to impress, it was built to welcome.
This place has held leaflets, love letters, manifestos and more. It looks historic because it is.
Come in. What’s your favourite corner?
Not your nan’s Christmas jumper.
No jingle, no sparkle - just leather, latex, and full archival fantasy. 🖤 ◼️ ⚫
From the UK Fetish Archive. 3 days left to order.
A gift for yourself, or someone who’ll get it. https://everpress.com/profile/uk-fetish-archive
Congratulations on such a well-deserved award! We love seeing archives inspiring creativity and connecting communities through art and ideas.
Spotted @davidolusoga.bsky.social somewhere unexpected lately?
Now he’s back to the real story.
Empire - his new @BBC series on Britain’s imperial legacy, filmed partly at Bishopsgate Institute.
📺 Empire with David Olusoga - watch on BBC iPlayer.
What a collection you've taken. We're particularly fond of the pins, and hold our own pin collection close to our heart.
