LIVERPOOL.- The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, opened the UK’s largest exhibition dedicated to exploring sex, gender and LGBT+ history through modern and contemporary art.

Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender & Identity, on view at the Walker Art Gallery on 28 July until 5 November 2017, marks 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of male homosexual acts was passed in England and Wales (1967 Sexual Offences Act), on 27 July 1967.

From Derek Jarman and Steve McQueen to Anya Gallaccio and Zanele Muholi, the artists represented across almost 100 artworks have used their work to explore sexuality and gender identity since 1967, after the passing of the Act.

Charlotte Keenan, Curator of British Art at National Museums Liverpool, said: “Coming Out will be one of the most important exhibitions in the Walker’s history. Showcasing the results of several years of research, it will make visible the themes of sexuality, gender identity and queerness that lie at the heart of some of Britain’s most significant contemporary works.

“The exhibition also forms part of an even greater ambition for us; to make queer British art and its importance to art history permanently visible within our galleries. Visitors can expect to see new interpretation within our permanent displays, as well as some exciting new acquisitions as we look to show – through our own collections – that LGBT+ history is everybody’s history.”

Coming Out reveals the findings of more than two years of research by the Walker into LGBT+ history and visual culture, exploring artworks within the Arts Council Collection as well as its own collection. Much of the research was developed as part of National Museums Liverpool’s Pride & Prejudice project, a two-year project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund.

Jill Constantine, Head of Arts Council Collection, said: “Marking the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of male homosexual acts in England and Wales, Coming Out explores sexuality, gender and identity and will act as a catalyst for discussion of these subjects with a broader audience. We are delighted and proud to be such a substantial part of this exhibition marking such an important moment in LGBT+ history.”

Works on display in Coming Out include feminist art by Margaret Harrison and provocative works by Linder, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd and Sarah Lucas. Arresting photography by Sunil Gupta, Maud Sulter and Wolfgang Tillmans feature, along with performances pieces and a number of audio-visual works by artists including Isaac Julien, Hilary Lloyd and James Richards.

A striking Arts Council Collection installation piece by Anya Gallaccio is included in the exhibition, titled Can Love Remember the Question and the Answer (2003). The work comprises a pair of mahogany doors. Prior to display, 60 gerbera flowers are inserted within the window panes of the doors. During the run of Coming Out, the gerberas will begin to decompose.

The exhibition is also an opportunity to see a number of new acquisitions for the Walker, recently acquired through Art Fund’s New Collecting Awards, including the Gallery’s first performance piece; tarot card readings which form part of John Walter’s Alien Sex Club, designed to encourage conversation and raise awareness around HIV and its transmission.

UK Gay Bar Directory by Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings is an AV piece presenting footage of 180 gay bars across the UK, intended as a response to the gentrification of the gay scene in London, and the closure of many historic and popular venues. This is the first time that work by the artists has entered a public art collection.

The co-artists Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz’s I Want (2015) is also included as a new acquisition through Art Fund’s New Collecting Award scheme. This film installation, featuring artist Sharon Hayes, is based on a script that plagiarises from the texts of punk poet Kathy Acker as well as the chats and addresses of whistle-blower Chelsea Manning.

Central to the exhibition will be a free programme of events and performances. Organised in partnership with artists, activists and communities, they will take place in FORUM; a designated room at the heart of the exhibition. The events are designed to encourage optimistic conversations around topics that have been ignored by institutions in the past.

Event highlights include a performance piece by Paul Maheke and ‘nail transphobia’ manicures by activist Charlie Craggs. While offering free manicures, Craggs will chat to visitors, encouraging them to ask questions relating to her experience as a trans woman, with the aim of addressing some common misconceptions.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, priced at £12.00. The publication includes illustrations of many of the exhibition’s most arresting artworks with accompanying interpretation, as well as texts placing the exhibition and its themes into a wider context. It also reproduces the transcript of Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz’s film I Want.

Coming Out is a touring exhibition conceived by National Museums Liverpool, in partnership with Birmingham Museums Trust as part of the Arts Council Collection National Partners Programme 2016-19.

The show will travel to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in December 2017 where it will be re-presented within the major Gas Hall exhibition space.