Playful Summer: A History of Queer Holidays

The exhibition explores how queer people spent their summers in the past. A rich collection of photographs, oral history interviews, documents, and literary sources reveals that a significant part of queer lives in the 20th century took place at country cottages, on trips, holidays, and at summer camps.

The exhibition presents authentic testimonies in words and images. How did the attempts to establish an exclusively queer tourist cottage outside Prague in the 1930s turn out? What was the Sacred Book of KPJK? What did their cottages mean to queer people? What was in the first queer tourist guide to the countries of the Socialist Bloc from the 1980s? Where did Lambda Tours travel?

Curated by Ladislav Jackson, Lukáš Samek, and Denisa Vídeňská from the Queer Memory Society

Admission – free, except on August 3, when entry is paid as part of the Prague Pride Festival Opening (150 / 200 CZK)

Accessibility – suitable for children and teens, dog-friendly, wheelchair accessible

Vibe check – standing room only, outdoor space

Trigger warnings – references to the oppression of queer people in the 20th century

Organised by – Queer Memory Society The Queer Memory Society is a non-governmental non-profit organisation whose mission is to collect, preserve, research, and popularise the history of queer people in the Czech lands. It is divided into a museum with a unique collection documenting queer lives (including an oral history sub-collection), an archive of individuals and organisations, and a specialised library containing both contemporary literature and periodicals as well as valuable historical prints. The organisation makes its collections, archive, and library available to researchers.