At a time when community is everything and rights are under pressure, a powerful new exhibition has launched in London to honour four decades of defiance, creativity and care. Out From the Centre: A Tribute to 40 Years of LGBTQ+, Disability and HIV Activism is now open at Mimosa House in Holborn, showcasing the legacy and continued fight of METRO Charity and its many collaborators.
Curated by Zissel Aronow and produced by Aronow and Adam Tipping, the exhibition spans two floors of immersive storytelling. It dives into archival material, oral histories and community-crafted art, celebrating METRO’s journey from its early days as the Greenwich Lesbian and Gay Centre to its present-day advocacy.
Downstairs, visitors can explore original materials from Bishopsgate Institute’s Special Collections, along with the personal archive of disability rights legend Sue Elsegood. Protest t-shirts, newspaper clippings, and rare footage document the tireless activism of groups like the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN)—including the legendary 1990s bus blockades demanding accessible transport.
Also on display: a poignant panel from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt, stitched between 1989 and 1996, commemorating those lost to HIV/AIDS during that harrowing chapter of history.
But this isn’t just about the past. Upstairs, the focus turns to the present and future. A screening room features everything from the trailblazing Framed Youth – Revenge of the Teenage Perverts (1983) to Well Proud, a new docuseries exploring the mental health experiences of queer Black and Global Majority communities in Lewisham.
Community-made art, punchy zines, comic strips by Rachael House, and works loaned by local artists bring modern resistance and joy into the fold—celebrating disability justice, trans visibility and queer liberation in all its messy, marvellous glory.
As part of the exhibition, a series of free events are also on offer, including:
🧀 Queer Fromage Fundraiser – A cheeky evening of cheese, chutney, drag and dance, featuring Oedipussi Rex and Queer House Party on Thursday 15th May
🧷 Badge-Making Drop-In with Badge Cafe on Saturday 17th May
Exhibition producer Adam Tipping said:
“This exhibition is a true celebration of community, in a time when coming together has never been more important. This is a space for you to reflect, feel inspired, or simply just be.”
Exhibition Details:
📅 10th – 18th May 2025
🕛 Open Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm – 6pm
📍 Mimosa House, 47 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8SP
💸 Free Entry
🌐 More info: metrocharity.org.uk/40years
🚇 Nearest Tube: Holborn
