Diageo, maker of Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Baileys, has formed a new two-year partnership with Queer Britain, the UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum, which is in London.
The first-of-its kind partnership aims to capture some of the lost LGBTQ+ contributions to history and culture in the UK, creating space for the community to find meaningful connections to both past and present.
Diageo will provide funding to support the setup of the inaugural museum space and provide resources to support the museum’s archivists in their mission to grow an archive of stories and artefacts.
The drinks giant’s archivists will work with Queer Britain to upskill volunteers and create archive best practices that will enable the museum to preserve LGBTQ+ history.
The brand has also partnered with filmmaker Mark Bleziri who will turn five iconic LGBTQ+ moments into mini-documentaries to educate and inspire, and honour the Pride movement’s 50th anniversary. The raw footage and materials will also be donated to the Queer Britain archive.
Conor Brown, Chairman of Diageo’s Rainbow Network Group at Diageo GB, said: “As part of Diageo’s ongoing commitment to creating a fairer, more inclusive society, we’re honoured to support an archive that strives to reinforce that all-important sense of belonging and connection for the community.”
Joseph Galliano, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Queer Britain, added: “Our archives allow us to bring LGBTQ+ icons, trailblazers, and artefacts out of the margins and onto centre stage, and our collaboration with Diageo will allow us to take this important work one step further, ensuring that inclusivity and intersectionality are consistently at the forefront of everything we do.”
Diageo will also be announcing several other collaborative initiatives and events in the coming months in celebration of 50 years of the UK Pride Movement, such as vodka brand Cîroc hosting the stage for the first of the festivities.
