££
- Activity
Escape Room Experience
Saturday and Sunday 10:20am to 4:20pm
Monday to Sunday during school holidays
Monday to Sunday during school holidays
Queer-ying the museum
Everyone is welcome to join us to explore the Royal Armouries collection through a queer perspective.
From a museum mansplaining drag king and self-defence workshops, to queer history tours of our collection and thought-provoking talks, we’ve got a host of activities for everyone to enjoy to round off LGBTQ+ history month.
Drop in to one or two events, or spend the whole day exploring our collection. All of our activities are free and drop-in, apart from the self defence workshop which you will need to book in advance.
Programme
Self-defence demonstration
11am Dojo, Asian and African Gallery, Floor 4.
In collaboration with BENT Collective, a Leeds LGBTQ+ initiative, discover practical ways of escaping danger from a professional wrestler.
Self-defence workshop
11.30am to 12.30pm Newsroom, Floor 4.
Join Zoe Boyd from BENT Collective in a beginner, LGBTQ+ friendly class to learn some basic self-defence moves.
Workshop capacity: 12.
Age: 18+
The supplier will provide a waiver which will need to be signed by participants on the day. As such, participants will need to arrive 10 mins before the start of the workshop.
Please wear comfortable clothes, be barefoot or wear socks with grips.
Can people with additional needs take part? Yes, the activities can be adapted for those with additional needs. Please let us know what you need to take part in the session by e-mailing rob.freeman@armouries.org.uk
Please book to secure your free workshop place
Performance: Daggers and drag
1pm Dojo, Asian and African Gallery, Floor 4.
Join Eugène Delacroissant (AKA freelance curator and educator, Claire Mead), the museum’s mansplaining drag king who cannot help but queer any collection he finds himself in via song, dance and the occasional sword fight.
Talk: Queer representation in arms and armour of pop culture - medieval to modern
1.45pm to 2.45pm Newsroom, Floor 4.
This workshop with historian Katie Vernon explores queer representation in arms and armour, from pop culture of the medieval period to modern depictions, especially in video games.
Gallery tour: Hidden queer histories at the Royal Armouries
3pm to 3.30pm Floor 2.
Writer and historian Kit Heyam will take you on a tour of the queer history hiding in plain sight in the Royal Armouries galleries.
Talk: Swords, codpieces, and petticoats
Performing masculinity in the early modern world.
3.45pm to 4.30pm Newsroom, Floor 4.
Historian Cat Stiles takes a look at the early modern world with a queer eye, exploring how people in the sixteenth century understood their bodies (hint: it’s not as straight or as cis as you might think!), and how arms and armour could be used both to reinforce and construct masculine identity.
