Reflections on the Making of the Unstraight Exhibitions

Abstract

Abstract The fact that there are only a few queer museums operating globally raises questions around the heteronormativity inherent in—and the invisibility of—the LGBTQI+ community in museums and mainstream institutions. This is true in Vietnam, where no museums have yet agreed to host an LGBTQI+ exhibition, despite growing interest. This lack of representation has led certain activists to seek alternative spaces wherein they can create unstraight exhibitions. The Unstraight Museum (UM), a Swedish NGO, has collaborated with local activists and NGOs across the world to create such exhibitions. Thanks to the UM, the author had the opportunity to use her organisation's collection to stage the Cabinet exhibition in 2015. She was later involved in collecting and exhibiting materials with the UM in Cambodia and Myanmar. This article presents the author's methods and perspectives on planning and executing these exhibitions. The digital and physical exhibitions of Southeast Asian materials in Sweden are also discussed to elucidate the international context of the author's work. Questions remain, however, around local sustainability and autonomy.