The Secret Public: LGBTQ Pop 1955 – 1985
Exhibition
The Secret Public: LGBTQ Pop 1955 – 1985 examines the profound influence of LGBTQ performers, artists and activists on mainstream pop culture. Based on Jon Savage’s book The Secret Public – How LGBTQ Performers Shaped Popular Culture 1955 – 1979 this new exhibition presents key pieces from the extensive archive collected by the author and University of Manchester Professor of Popular Culture, which is now as part of the Library’s British Pop Archive.
The exhibition takes a thematic and chronological journey through posters, magazines, books, promotional photographs and record sleeves, tracing the extraordinary contribution LGBTQ performers have made throughout those years, enhanced by audio and video providing an evocative soundtrack to this story.
The exhibition runs from 15 May 2025. Find out more about planning your visit to the John Rylands Library.