Forgotten Battles: Gender in the Armouries
The Gendering the Museum Toolkit was used by staff and researchers at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds to develop new experiences of the museum.
Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and co-led by Gendering the Museum's Kit Heyam, 'Forgotten Battles: Gender in the Armouries' was part of the Leeds 2023 Year of Culture. The project employed four researchers, who used the toolkit to uncover hidden gendered and queer histories behind 10 objects. A team of local LGBTQ+ volunteers then used the research to produce a self-guided museum trail and a creative exhibition, which challenged conventional narratives of arms and armour and reclaimed the museum as an LGBTQ+ space.
To see the gendered object trail developed by the team as part of the project, visit royalarmouries.org/objects-and-stories/stories/forgotten-battles.