Nieuwe Instituut x Queer History Month
27 February 2026 - 30 March 2026
What are the housing preferences of lesbian women and gay men? Are the streets safe for people who are visibly different? And how are they represented in urban policy on the built urban environment? These questions were central to the Pink Public Space seminar in 2001. Archival documents from this dossier form the contribution of the Nieuwe Instituut to Queer History Month: online, and as a small presentation at the Re-Centre.
The Pink Public Space seminar and exhibition on social identity and urban space in Rotterdam took place in 2001 as part of Rotterdam European Capital of Culture.
Pink Public Space was a collaboration between Steunpunt Wonen, the European network of lesbian academics WILD, Lidewij Tummers' agency Tussen Ruimte and Stichting Rotterdam Roze 2001. The focus was on the interaction between the academic world and everyday practice.
In connection to Pink Public Space, several activities took place throughout Rotterdam. For example, a shop window was curated at the bookshop v/h Van Gennep on the Oude Binnenweg, and WILD organised an expert meeting on lesbian visibility in public space. The results were presented in the exhibition Cartography of Lesbian Visibility in Public Space at the Rotterdamse Schouwburg.
The dossier contains amongst others correspondence, minutes, flyers and notes on the preparations for the seminar and the exhibition, including a map of Rotterdam on which visitors were invited to mark their own pink spaces.
Vrouwen Bouwen Wonen
The dossier on Pink Public Space can be found in the archive of the Stichting Vrouwen Bouwen Wonen, specifically within the section formed by Lidewij Tummers. The foundation was established in 1983 by a group of women with the aim of promoting equality for women in the construction and architecture sectors.
Queer History Month
Cultural institutions collaborate on an online platform where LGBTIQ+ stories are shared through objects from museum and archive collections. Queer History Month is an initiative of the International Gay and Lesbian Information Centre and Archive (IHLIA) and takes place annually in the Netherlands in March.