Exhibitions

Permanent Exhibition – Timeline Temporary exhibitions Virtual Exhibition – Timeline

Permanent Exhibition – Timeline

The QueerMuseum Warsaw’s permanent exhibition is presented as a Timeline, covering the period from 1559 to the early 21st century.

We chose this format to present our history due to the limited space available. On the walls of the QueerMuseum, we display printed reproductions of exhibits, original documents and leaflets, artifacts housed in display cases and cubicles, as well as audio and video recordings.

The Timeline was developed by a team led by Professor Piotr Laskowski from the Laboratory of Research on LGBT+ History and Identities at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw. The team included the following contributors: Anna Dżabagina, Wiktor Dynarski, Jakub Gawkowski, Adriana Kapała, Kamil Karczewski, Krzysztof Kliszczyński, Sebastian Matuszewski, Łukasz Mikołajewski, Joanna Ostrowska, Grzegorz Piątek, Magdalena Staroszczyk, Piotr Szarota, Wojciech Śmieja, Krzysztof Tomasik, and Paweł Żukowski.

The Timeline is divided into eight sections:

1. “Once Upon a Time” – covering the 16th to 18th centuries

2. “Reason vs. Superstition and Romantic Searches: 1790–1850”

3. “Tightening the Noose: 1850–1890”

4. “Living One’s Own Life: 1890–1933”

5. “The Abyss: 1933–1945”

6. “Silence: 1945–1965”

7. “Reaction and Revolution: 1965–1990”

8. “1990–2003: A Turning Point?”

A guidebook, available at the QueerMuseum, is essential for understanding the Timeline. Due to space constraints, descriptions of individual artifacts are only included in the guidebook. Currently, the guidebook is available in Polish, but an English version is planned for publication in 2025.

The Timeline arrangement was designed by Anna Sarnowska, with graphic design by Daniel Szwed. Conservation and video material preparation were undertaken by Monika Supruniuk.

The audio recordings were narrated by Helena Urbańska, Marek Barbasiewicz, Mateusz Górski, and Jacek Poniedziałek. Recording and artistic supervision were provided by Szymon Adamczak, with editing and mastering by Jacek Alka and Mirosław Burkot. Tablet content assembly was handled by Paweł Porzeziński, Syd Breslauer, and Krzysztof Kliszczyński.

Download guide (PL)
Two women, an undated photograph from the collection of the University of Warsaw Library, Manuscripts Department
Two women, an undated photograph from the collection of the University of Warsaw Library, Manuscripts Department
Józef Rajnfeld and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz in front of the Santa Croce church in Florence, a photograph taken in September 1931, from the collection of the Museum of Anna and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz in Stawisko
Józef Rajnfeld and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz in front of the Santa Croce church in Florence, a photograph taken in September 1931, from the collection of the Museum of Anna and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz in Stawisko
Etap, issue 3/1986
Etap, issue 3/1986
The bulletin Efebos, issue 1 from June 1987
The bulletin Efebos, issue 1 from June 1987
A membership card of the Lambda Groups Association from 1990
A membership card of the Lambda Groups Association from 1990
Furia Pierwsza, issue 1 from 1997
Furia Pierwsza, issue 1 from 1997

QueerMuseum expresses its gratitude to the following individuals and institutions for providing materials for the exhibition:

  • Central Archives of Historical Records
  • Archives of the Institute of National Remembrance
  • Lambda Warsaw Archives
  • National Archives in Kraków
  • State Archives in Kalisz
  • Archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
  • Archives of the State Museum at Majdanek
  • Archives of the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute
  • Arolsen Archives
  • Main Library of the Warsaw University of Technology
  • National Library of Poland
  • Public Library of the Capital City of Warsaw
  • University of Warsaw Library
  • Ingeborg Boxhammer
  • Damski Tandem Twórczy
  • Izabela Desperak
  • Lutz van Dijk
  • Anna Dżabagina
  • FFBIZ – das feministische Archiv
  • National Film Archive
  • Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum
  • Wacław and Anna Gluth-Nowowiejscy
  • Main Medical Library named after Stanisław Konopka in Warsaw
  • Gunia Nowik Gallery
  • Ewa Hołuszko
  • Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute
  • International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam
  • Ryszard Kisiel
  • Krzysztof Kliszczyński
  • Piotr Kłoczowski and the Institute for Documentation and Research on Polish Literature
  • Bartek Arobal Kociemba
  • Tomasz Komornicki
  • Christoph Kranich
  • Zbigniew Kresowaty
  • KHM-Museumsverband, Theatermuseum, Vienna
  • Landesarchiv Berlin
  • Sebastian Matuszewski
  • Megan Moore
  • POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
  • Museum of Anna and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz in Stawisko
  • Kazimierz Pułaski Museum in Warka
  • Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw
  • Maria Grzegorzewska Museum, Maria Grzegorzewska University of Special Education
  • National Museum in Warsaw
  • District Museum in Toruń
  • Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
  • Museum of Warsaw
  • National Digital Archives
  • Igor Omulecki
  • Joanna Ostrowska
  • Brama Grodzka – NN Theatre Centre
  • Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik Library
  • Karol Radziszewski
  • Szymon Rudnicki
  • Andrzej Selerowicz
  • Stadtarchiv Tübingen
  • Magdalena Staroszczyk
  • Rut Stern
  • Krzysztof Tomasik
  • Leszek Truchliński
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Emilia Wasilewicz
  • Wellcome Collection
  • Paweł Żukowski

Temporary exhibitions

Gifts
6.12.2024 – 28.02.2025
The “Gifts” exhibition showcases six artifacts donated to the Lambda Warsaw Archives / QueerMuseum collection in recent years.
Pins of Dissent
31.12.2024 – 28.02.2025
“Pins of Dissent” is a small exhibition presenting around 300 pins from the collection of QueerMuzeum Warszawa
Archival exhibitions →

Virtual Exhibition – Timeline

Starting January/February 2025, the Timeline – the main exhibition of QueerMuseum Warsaw – will also be available on our website as a virtual exhibition.

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