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Villiers Revealed: ‘We Have Always Been Here’

A project revealing LGBTQ+ lives in Leicestershire: 5th October 2024 until 29th June 2025

In a unique exhibition at Melton Carnegie Museum, we reveal histories that have often been misrepresented, hidden, and erased.

George Villiers

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham was one of the most famous figures of early 17^th century Europe. Born at Brooksby Hall in Leicestershire, he became the ‘favourite’ of King James I. Historical evidence details an intense closeness that we might describe as ‘Queer’ today. A reminder that LGBTQ+ life and love isn’t a side story in history, but it shapes history. A history we all inherit and can explore together.

He was one of the most painted men in the early Stuart period. He commissioned portraits by the leading painters of the day to show off his status, titles and wealth.

The creative response

Curated by multidisciplinary artist, designer, and facilitator Aaran (they/them), ‘Villiers Revealed: ‘We Have Always Been Here’ is a powerful exploration of queerness, erasure, and reclamation. Centred around the portrait of George Villiers—whose speculated queerness was largely ignored despite his political power—the exhibition expands beyond his story to explore intersectional queer and trans histories across cultures and time.

Community participation

The exhibition was co-created with LGBTQIA+ communities in and around Leicestershire through a series of creative workshops. Participants explored themes of identity, ancestry, and resistance through collage, poetry, and portrait-making. In collaboration with Dosti, a support group for South Asian and Middle Eastern LGBTQ+ people, a large collective tapestry was created, layered with silhouettes, textiles, and vibrant materials. An LGBTQ+ youth group produced expressive silhouette portraits, and an online workshop connected participants through mailed creative packs and digital collaging sessions.

A poetry workshop, led by artist and writer Nikita in collaboration with Queer Coffee Link Ups, explored global examples of gender fluidity. The resulting collective poem runs through the exhibition, linking each artwork with a shared thread.

New portraits

Aaran’s illustrations respond directly to these workshops, featuring cosmic, gender-blending figures layered with collage elements and historical imagery. These artworks stand in contrast to Villiers’ formal portrait, offering instead a fluid, evolving, and collective representation of queer identity.

Villiers Revealed is a call to uncover, honour, and reshape queer and trans histories. It reminds us that we have always existed and invites us to imagine new futures grounded in collective memory and creative expression.

LGBTQ+ stories in museums

We are working with Jon Sleigh, Arts Educator, Learning Officer and Learning Curator, looking at Leicestershire’s Museum Collections to identify LGBTQ+ connections and the potential to interpret them in new ways with new audiences.

‘To grow up and not see yourself represented in a museum you care about hurts. Museums are spaces for all our stories – yet continue to have gaps in how they are told. Gaps in seeing how you love, knowing there were others like you, how we express ourselves, and the universal truth that all our stories overlap. 

LGBTQ+ and Queer stories in museums matter because we matter.

Telling LGBTQ+ stories with dignity, passion and purpose uplifts so many different communities. It’s an act of celebration, recognition, defiance and reflection. Ultimately, it’s an act rooted in kindness and equity.’

Visit the exhibition Melton Carnegie Museum www.meltonmuseum.org

Become a volunteer www.cultureleicestershire.co.uk/volunteering