Gender Stories
Challenging rigid definitions and binary narratives, Gender Stories dives deep into the intricate connections between sex, gender, sexuality, and identity. Discover how these fluid, and multifaceted ideas have been mythologised, stereotyped, expressed – and sometimes concealed – through art, history, politics, and daily life over time.
Gender Stories will explore the complexities of gender identity from 31 May to 12 October 2025, before the exhibition tours to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and National Museums Liverpool.
Featuring works by Grayson Perry, David Hockney and Catherine Opie, this groundbreaking exhibition invites visitors to delve into the multifaceted world of gender, challenging traditional binary narratives and exploring how gender intersects with sex, identity, and sexuality across cultures and history.
Through a diverse collection of art, artefacts, personal stories, and new artist commissions, Gender Stories offers a space for reflection on the fluidity of gender and the evolving understanding of self-expression.
Exclusively for Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, trans artist and educator, Mister SAMO, has been commissioned to create two large murals in situ in the lead up to the exhibition launching.
The exhibition is an invitation for everyone seeking a deeper understanding of different experiences and emphasises the importance of dialogue and self-discovery.
Visitors to Gender Stories will explore pivotal questions, such as:
- How do you ‘do’ your gender?
- What is gender?
- Who decides your gender?
- What is the future of gender?
We don’t have all the answers, but we’re excited to explore these complex questions together. Whether you’re beginning, continuing, or seeking to understand a gender journey – your own or someone else’s – this exhibition offers a meaningful space for reflection and discovery.
Created in collaboration with Bristol Museums, National Museums Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Museums, and people from all three cities, Gender Stories showcases powerful narratives from people drawn from many communities. This sits alongside academic insights from gender theory, providing an inclusive platform for discussions on the joys and struggles of gender identity.
Book tickets
Pay what you can – suggested donation £6 per person.
Facilities and Access Information
Exhibition Interpretation
- BSL content accessible via QR code
- Audio described content accessible via QR code (please bring your own earphones).
Facilities
- Accessible toilets
- Gender neutral toilets
- Baby change facilities
Getting here
Bus numbers 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 and 72 all travel past the museum up Park Street and from the Clifton Triangle.
Arrival
Please arrive at the museum and enter the building to the left of the main entrance on Queens Road. The double glass doors to the museum will be just past some bollards and down a short curved driveway.
Access facilities
- What 3 Words location: prices.translated.firmly
- Level entry through electronic doors (to the left of the main entrance).
- A platform lift into the museum from the main entrance.
- A passenger lift with tactile buttons to all public areas except Sea Dragons.
- Two adult-sized wheelchairs for loan.
- Induction loop at the Welcome Desk.
- A wheelchair accessible toilet
- Assistance dogs welcome
Gender Stories explores the fluid, multifaceted world of gender across cultures, eras, and personal experiences.
Gender Stories has been created for the Museums and Galleries Network for Exhibition Touring (MAGNET), with Art Fund support and supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Related Events
These events are part of the programme surrounding the Gender Stories exhibition.
