Culture And Memory

Take Courage: An Homage to Queer Vauxhall in the 70s, 80s, and 90s

Take Courage: An Homage to Queer Vauxhall in the 70s, 80s, and 90 Take Courage will explore the community heritage of three backstreet boozers in the ‘Vauxhall Gay Village’ in the late 20th Century, all five minutes’ stroll from each other: the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (1968 - 2000), the Market Tavern (1980 - 1997) and the Elephant & Castle (1979 - 1996). Through themes of community, hedonism and performance, the project will support groups of intergenerational volunteers to uncover hidden histories from working class south London survivors. A deep dive into public and private archives will lead to ten history clubs, a zine and an unusual interactive exhibition - an animated cardboard pub crawl at the new London Museum. More than half of LGBTQIA+ pubs have closed in the past two decades, Take Courage looks back to a time when they were at the very centre of our community.