A queer tour

How can we use art to speak about history? Using the artefacts of Europe's shared cultural heritage to reflect on historical events, we can reshape traditional narratives. Looking at cultural heritage objects from new angles can uncover hidden personalities and stories, fostering the representation of those narratives that history has sometimes forgotten.

Dani Martiri of Queering Rome approached Europeana to propose the first queer tour of its content. This exhibition takes you through a journey of 21 objects in Europeana's collections interpreted through an LGBTQIA+ lens. Dani intended to demonstrate how history can become a fundamental tool for a more inclusive way of lingering on the fascinating complexities of our past, and therefore have a clearer understanding of our present and future. This methodology should inspire other curators and thinkers to craft their own journeys and write stories with objects, to speak to their audiences in informative and innovative ways.