Past Shelves: Audio described tour

Listen to the audio version of this webpage:

Join artists and educators Lou & Debbie for an audio described tour of our Past Shelves: Histories of Queer Reading exhibition at the Museum of Edinburgh. The tour has been specially designed for blind and partially sighted people, and will include descriptions of the size, colour, and context behind the objects in the exhibition.

Register to attend

Please email themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk to book a place. In your email, please let us know your name, how many people are coming, and your access requirements.

About the exhibition

Past Shelves explores the impact of LGBTQ+ reading, publishing, and bookselling. The exhibition is inspired by Scotland’s first LGBTQ+ bookshops and LGBTQ+ community experiences in Scotland from 1980-2000. The Past Shelves exhibition follows on from the Past Shelves oral history project run in 2025-2026 by the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive.

Lavender Menace (1982-1987) and West & Wilde (1987-1997) were Scotland’s first LGBTQ+ bookshops, co-founded by Bob Orr, Sigrid Nielsen, and Raymond Rose. The bookshops sold queer books at a time when mainstream bookshops would not stock them, and they also provided important community spaces where LGBTQ+ people could feel welcomed and connect with each other. In 2019, Lavender Menace was revived as Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive. Discover the world of Lavender Menace and West & Wilde with us, through books, magazines, interviews and more.

The exhibition was created by Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in partnership with Museums & Galleries Edinburgh. Thank you to our funders, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Awards for All.

Location & access

The exhibition takes place at the Museum of Edinburgh, 142-146 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DD. We will meet you at the main entrance and accompany you to the exhibition space.

The main entrance has 1 step. There is no lift and no ramp and the exhibition is located on the first floor, accessible by stairs only. If the inaccessibility of the building is preventing you from visiting the exhibition, please email themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk and we will send you a digital guide.