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 cottages, country houses, on trips, holidays and summer camps.

The exhibition presents authentic testimonies in words and images. How did attempts to establish an exclusively queer tourist cabin outside Prague fare in the 1930s? What was the Sacred Book of KPJK? What did their cottages mean to queer people? What was included in the first queer tourist guide to the countries of the socialist bloc in the 1980s? Where did Lambda Tours travel?

Curated by Ladislav Jackson, Lukáš Samek and Denisa Vídeňská from Společnost pro queer paměť (Society for Queer Memory)

Admission – free, except on 3 August, when there is an entrance fee 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 – Společnost pro queer paměť, z. s. The Society for Queer Memory 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 comprises 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 rare historical prints. The collections, archive and library are made available to researchers.