This LGBT+ History Month (1 to 28 February 2026), People’s History Museum (PHM) invites visitors to explore Manchester’s rich LGBTQIA+ radical history. Alongside archive explorations and gallery tours that delve deeper into the city’s activist past, visitors can experience Re/Assemble, a new exhibition inspired by the 1988 protest marches against Section 28.
Experience the Exhibition
Re/Assemble (until 3 January 2027) commemorates the events of 20 February 1988, when 20,000 people gathered in Manchester to protest against Section 28 – a clause in the Local Government Act that prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by schools and local authorities. Curated by Manchester-based arts organisation IAP:MCR, the exhibition brings together historic artefacts and contemporary artworks that respond to the climate of fear and hostility created by the legislation.
Supported by a two-year long research project funded by
The exhibition, located in Gallery Two at PHM, is complemented by a selection of banners from the museum’s collection that capture moments of protest, solidarity, and community in the ongoing fight for LGBTQIA+ equality. These include Lesbians & Gays Support The Miners Manchester banner (1992), which is going on public display for the first time.
Free entry, most people donate £10.
Full details available here.
Delve into the Archives
On Saturday 7 February there is the opportunity to spend the day immersed in the archives and galleries at PHM alongside Re/Assemble curator, Jez Dolan, and LGBT+ writer and public historian, Joshua Val Martin. With a morning and afternoon session to choose from, guests will join Josh on a tour of Re/Assemble discovering how Manchester’s people have fought to liberate LGBTQIA+ lives. The session with Jez will take place in the archives alongside PHM’s Archive team, with an investigation of materials selected from the museum’s LGBTQIA+ collections.
Free, full price (£15.00) and concession (£10.00) tickets are available.
Full details available here.
Join IAP:MCR for an Exhibition Tour
Throughout LGBT+ History Month, visitors can book a group tour with the team at IAP:MCR – Jez Dolan (artistic director) and Joshua Val Martin (LGBT+ writer and public historian) – for an immersive experience of Re/Assemble. These guided tours will take visitors behind the scenes of the research that inspired the exhibition, offering a deeper insight into the history of Section 28, the Never Going Underground march, and the ongoing legacy of LGBTQIA+ activism.
Group tours are suitable for community groups, students and organisations. They are suitable for groups of up to 19 and cost £200. Advanced booking is required. Full details available here.
People’s History Museum’s opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm, every day except Tuesdays. You can visit PHM’s new café, Gather, or bring your own food and picnic in the welcome area. PHM has a Changing Places toilet and lifts to its galleries. Museum entry is free, with most visitors donating £10. For further information about PHM, its latest programme of events and visiting the museum visit phm.org.uk, and you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to receive PHM’s e-newsletter.
ENDS
For further information about PHM, to arrange a visit or interview please contact Fido PR:
laura.sullivan@fidopr.co.uk / clare.short@fidopr.co.uk
Notes to editors:
About People’s History Museum
People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester is the UK’s national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. Through an eclectic and colourful mix of historic and contemporary collections, featuring banners, badges, posters, photography and more, the museum celebrates the radical stories of people coming together to champion ideas worth fighting for.
Offering an engaging programme of exhibitions and events, collaborating with communities to create authentic content, the museum is Family Friendly throughout – inspiring the next generation to be active citizens.
People’s History Museum encourages visitors to be empowered by the past to make a change for the future. We are all together in the fight for a fairer world.
About Arts Council England (ACE)
PHM is an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). The work of PHM is supported using public funding by ACE, the national development agency for creativity and culture. ACE have set out their strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. From 2023 to 2026 they will invest over £467 million of public money from government and an estimated £250 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.
Re-Assemble
About IAP:MCR
IAP:MCR creates and presents new work across the visual and performing arts made by artists who identify as queer. IAP:MCR tells the stories of LGBTQIA+ people utilising multi-disciplinary art forms to engage, welcome and entertain, whilst enabling collaboration, participation and celebration.
www.iapmcr.co.uk
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.
Over the next ten years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.
We help protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.
We are passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund www.heritagefund.org.uk
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