Expanding Queer Narratives in Museums - Live Webinar
Includes a Live Web Event on 07/10/2025 at 3:00 PM (EDT)
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Register
- Nonmember - $45
- Academic Program - $25
- Academic Faculty - $25
- Academic Student - $25
- Partner Institution - $25
- Partner Institution Staff - $25
- Premier Partner Institution - $25
- Premier Institution Staff - $25
- Platinum Partner Institution - $25
- Platinum Institution Staff - $25
- Complimentary - $25
- Individual Membership - $25
- Subscription Services - $25
- Institutional Budget - $25
- Institutional Staff - $25
- Individual Student - $25
- Institutional Member - $25
- Individual Student Renew - $25
Webinar Description
This webinar will explore how institutions can broaden LGBTQ+ interpretation at their sites, covering strategies such as engaging staff and board members, collaborating with peers to expand programming, and reaching new audiences. We’ll begin with case studies from two organizations (the small-scale Gibson House in Boston and the larger Historic New England, covering 38 historic properties), highlighting their journeys toward more inclusive interpretation. These examples set the stage for the groundbreaking exhibition and publication The Importance of Being Furnished: Four Bachelors at Home, which explores the queer histories of four New England historic homes (Beauport, Codman Estate, Gibson House, and Pendleton House at the RISD Museum).
Through this program, we’ll examine exhibit planning, research methods, programming, communications, and overcoming pushback, and will provide scalable approaches for diverse institutional contexts. Learn how sites of all sizes can create inclusive programming while addressing community-specific needs.
Presenters include:
- Ken Turino, co-editor of Reimagining Historic House Museums and co-facilitator of AASLH's onsite historic house museum workshop
- Meghan Gelardi Holmes, curator at the Gibson House Museum
- R. Tripp Evans, professor at Wheaton College and author/curator of The Importance of Being Furnished: Four Bachelors at Home
Details
DATE: July 10, 2025
TIME: 3:00 - 4:15 pm EASTERN (Remember to adjust for your time zone)
COST: $25 members/$45 nonmembers
ACCESS: You will be provided with instructions on how to access the live event upon registration.
Learning Outcomes
During this webinar, participants will:
- Recognize the importance of researching and interpreting LGBTQ histories and how to advocate for their inclusion.
- Learn research techniques and interpretive strategies for uncovering and sharing hidden stories.
- Discover how collaboration with other sites and resources can amplify impact and audience engagement.
- Gain actionable tips for stakeholder engagement and navigating obstacles or pushback.
Book Discount
Registrants will receive a promo code for 30% off Interpreting LGBT HIstory at Museums and Historic Sites by Sue Ferentinos and Reimagining Historic House Museums edited by Ken Turino and Max van Balgooy.
Recording and Captioning
We will record this event. Captioning is provided for the live event.
Connecting the Content
This webinar will especially help organizations enrolled in STEPS address multiple standards under the Interpretation and Audience and Community Engagement sections of the STEPS program.
The Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (STEPS) from AASLH is a self-study, self-paced assessment tool designed specifically for small- to mid-sized history organizations, including volunteer-run institutions. Through a workbook, online resources, and an online community, organizations enrolled in STEPS review their policies and practices and benchmark themselves against national standards.
How to Register
Click here for instructions on how to register yourself or another user for this event.
Cancellation/Refunds for onsite workshops must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the early-bird registration deadline date will receive a full refund. Cancellations made between the early-bird deadline date and eight days prior to the workshop will be subject to a $55 processing/materials charge. No refunds will be given within seven days of the workshop date. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.
Cancellations/Refunds for online professional development (webinars and online courses) must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the start date for the online course or the day of the webinar will be given a full refund. No refund will be given after the start date for the online course or on/after the day of the webinar. Registrants may transfer their registration to another person. Registrations cannot be transferred between courses or course sessions. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.
If you have any questions, please contact AASLH Professional Development staff at learn@aaslh.org or 615-320-3203.
R. Tripp Evans
Professor
Wheaton College
R. Tripp Evans is a Professor of the History of Art at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, where he specializes in American material culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He earned his BA in Architectural History from the University of Virginia and his MA and PhD in the History of Art from Yale University, where he was named the Henry S. McNeil Fellow in American Decorative Arts. He is the author of three books and in 2010 received the National Award for Arts Writing. In conjunction with his most recent book, The Importance of Being Furnished: Four Bachelors at Home, Tripp guest-curated an exhibition of the same name sponsored by Historic New England.
Ken Turino
Museum Search and Reference
Ken Turino joined Museum Search & Reference as a Senior Search Consultant in July 2023. Previously, he managed community partnerships and resource development, focusing on exhibitions and community engagement for 24 years at Historic New England. A noted public historian, Turino has published extensively on interpreting historic sites and LGBTQ+ history. He co-edited Reimagining Historic House Museums (2019) and Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites (2024). Active on the AASLH Council, he also teaches workshops on historic houses. Ken consults for museums on interpretive planning and interpreting LGBTQ+ history at such institutions as Frank Llyod Wright’s Fallingwater, the Gibson House, and Connecticut Landmarks. He also teaches museum studies at Tufts University and will lead a learning weekend course at Harvard in fall 2025.
Meghan Gelardi Holmes
Gibson House Museum
Meghan Gelardi Holmes is the curator of the Gibson House Museum and the curator of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, both historic houses located in Boston. She also teaches in the Tufts University Museum Studies program. Holmes received her MA in Public History from UMass-Amherst. In 2022, she was awarded the Denny O'Toole Scholarship to participate in AASLH's History Leadership Institute. Meghan is co-chair of the New England Museums Association's Community of Practice.
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