LGBTIQ+-Themed Education at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna – Guided Tours with a Drag Queen

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, holds countless European Old Master paintings, some of which can be interpreted to reference queer themes. But working there as an educator, I noticed there was a lack of LGBTIQ+ outreach. Since I held the academic skills to develop queer-themed guided tours and because I also performed as a drag queen in my free time, I decided to combine both activities and offered guided tours in drag. The tours became an immense success with visitors, as evidenced by personal feedback, participant numbers, and social media engagement. In addition, the project attracted far more positive media coverage than expected. Serious, in-depth analysis of the artworks and their implications about social history remained the project’s core mission throughout. Despite its tremendous success, I retired the program after three years because it required significant personal investment. Still, both the project’s successes and its challenges offer valuable insights about museum outreach strategies in general.