St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff is now showcasing an exhibition dedicated to LGBT+ history, both past and present. Curated using flags, badges and other items, the exhibition includes the likes of memorabilia from Cardiff's first Pride to protests that have taken place in Wales to try and better life for the LGBT+ community.
Recently, Wales' ancient LGBT+ history has been featured in the spotlight following independent researcher, Dr Alessandro Ceccarelli, stating that the discovery of a stone head of the God Attis was found in Caerleon. The Greek-Roman god in mythology is remembered as the "consort" of the mother goddess and harvest goddess Cybele. Attis was known as both a "male" and "female" god in certain texts. More on this story can be found here. Whilst LGBT+ history is quite obviously an important part of Welsh history, the likes of these finds and the recent St Fagans installation has brought attention it has perhaps missed out on.
"LGBTQ+ history shouldn’t just be celebrated in LGBTQ+ History Month or Pride Month, and at Amgueddfa Cymru we are taking a 365 day approach to LGBTQ+ history. We have plans to use objects from the collection in displays, exhibitions, and events throughout the year, and across all of Amgueddfa Cymru’s museum sites, such as the Trawsnewid exhibition that has just closed at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. We have plans for a number of LGBTQ+ related events over the next few years, so watch this space," curator Mark Etheridge told WalesOnline.
