Past Exhibitions

Premier Night!

Explore Sponsorship Opportunities

Coming Out West: LGBTQ+ Elders Share Their Stories

June 1 – December 17, 2023

Told through oral histories, images, art, and personal ephemera, visitors will experience a history of the LGBTQ+ community through the lens of people who shaped it.

Presented in collaboration with The Outwords Archive, this important exhibition features Jewel Thais-Williams, proprietor of the renowned LGBTQ club Jewel’s Catch One. Chuck Williams namesake of the venerated Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Judy Abdo, former Santa Monica city councilperson and one of the nation’s first out-lesbian mayors. L Frank, Tongva-Ajachmem artist, writer, activist and tribal scholar. As well as artists and activists Don Bachardy, Mia Yamamoto, Marianne Diaz and celebrated Latinx author and descendent of one of Santa Monica’s oldest families, Terri de la Peña.

Santa Monica boasts a rich and diverse history of LGBTQ+ culture, activism, and community that dates back to its earliest inhabitants, the Tongva people, who embraced fluid gender identities and sexual orientations. However, with the arrival of Spanish and American colonization, strict gender norms and laws prohibiting homosexuality were imposed upon California, resulting in severe punishments, including forced sterilization, until 1951.

In response to discrimination, organizations such as the Daughters of Bilitis and the Mattachine Society formed in the 1950s to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. These groups, along with publications, The Ladder, ONE Magazine, the Lesbian News, and Bob Damron’s travel guides, provided valuable information and welcoming spaces for the community.

The 1960s saw a pivotal moment in the gay civil rights movement as the LGBTQ+ community rallied against police raids on known gathering spots such as the Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles and the Stonewall Inn in New York. This resulted in the first Pride parades, which increased mainstream visibility and awareness of the injustice and discrimination experienced by the LGBTQ+ community.  Despite the gradual dismantling of anti-gay laws across the U.S., the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s brought new challenges, devastating losses of life, and continued stigma and discrimination. Nevertheless, from the 1990s to the 2010s, the LGBTQ+ community continued to achieve civil rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage and greater positive representation in media and politics. However, these gains are still being contested today in legislative battles.

Throughout these struggles, LGBTQ+ individuals in Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Bay area have remained active in their creative expression, activism, and community-building efforts, making the city a more inclusive and vibrant place for all.

Curators: Anne Wallentine and The Outwords Archive

Advertisement for Santa Monica businessman Goodrich McNeal’s service station, 1950s
Quinn Research Center
Students outside Garfield Elementary School in Santa Monica, c1952
Historical content from the Santa Monica Malibu Council of PTAs, organized January 1, 1924
Santa Monica Crescent Bay Lodge No. 19 mortgage burning celebration, 1928
Outlook Collection (1998.1.898)
Available for reprint
Students at Garfield Elementary School in Santa Monica participate in a toy refurbishment project, 1935
Bill Beebe Collection (3.2.189)
Available for reprint

Exhibition presented with
the Quinn Research Center

Coming Out West

 is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors

Terri de la Peña
Kathleen Rawson & Lisa Dannenbaum
Susan Gabriel Potter & Family
Harding, Larmore, Kutcher & Kozal
Hanna, Brophy, MacLean, McAleer & Jensen, LLP

Exhibition Press Release
Sponsorship Opportunities

What does COMMUNITY mean to you?

• Coming together -> Unity
• Home

Who makes a COMMUNITY form?

• Common interests & availability
• Learning more about the Santa Monica community was inspiring and enlightening. A gift to those who wish to know about the history

What gives a NEIGHBORHOOD its identity?

• Shared community led resources (schools, restaurants, events, etc.)
• Knowing the history of buildings still there (and gone) and the people who were part of it.

Who is part of your COMMUNITY?

• This museum!
• Beautifully curated collection. Thanks for compiling all these artifacts and history of our neighborhood!

What makes a strong COMMUNITY?

• Loving connections between the people

Photos and video highlighting the exhibition

Oral History: Carolyn and Bill Edwards
View Previous Exhibitions