Interpreting Queer Heritage

The Maritime Museum’s Rainbow Trail

Abstract

This article explores the possibility of integrating queer heritage into a permanent museum exhibition at the Maritime Centre Vellamo in Finland through the form of a rainbow trail. Informed by previous work on queering museums, exhibitions, and guided tours, the article evaluates the author’s intervention at Vellamo, beginning with its initiation, outlining the principles deployed to create the trail, analysing in detail the interpretative strategies used to write the leaflet, and examining visitor feedback collected by the museum. It aims to raise awareness of the possibilities offered by such museum activism for making the historical existence of queerness and queer heritage visible as part of national history, while leveraging the legitimacy afforded by the museum context.