Bringing together artworks, stories and poetry from three generations of voices, explore how LGBT+ people have sought desire, such as friendship, community, and intimacy, across changing times and technologies.

“How much I want to scream sometimes here for want of being able to say something I mean.” Duncan Grant

About the exhibition

At the heart of the exhibition are intimate drawings and paintings by artist Duncan Grant, who in 1916 worked on a farm in Suffolk with his then partner, David Garnett, to escape the war.

At a time when same-sex relationships were illegal in Britain, he created deeply personal drawings that reflected his fluid relationships.

Often inspired by Greek and Roman art, these works were gifted to friends as expressions of care and affection.

As you move through the exhibition, you’ll discover how LGBT+ people have found one another across different places and generations – from galleries, bars, and public meeting places to cruising grounds, life-drawing groups, online games like Pokémon Go, social media, and dating apps like Gather and Grindr.

Explore queer desire

Presented as an immersive visual poem, the exhibition combines Duncan Grant’s work with selected contemporary artworks, newly commissioned poetry, stories of East Anglian cruising and personal reflections from collectors of Duncan’s work, artists, poets, and anonymous people.

It also explores the history of “cruising” – the practice of seeking connection in public spaces.

While often associated with romance or sex, the exhibition broadens this understanding by highlighting how these spaces can also foster friendship, creativity, shared knowledge, and community.

Together, these stories reflect on how technology, creativity, and social networks shape the complex ways some gay, bi, and queer men express masculinity, seek intimacy, share knowledge, and experience risk today.

What to expect

Discover over 35 drawings and paintings by Duncan Grant, tracing his relationships, friendships, and studies of bathers and men he saw at cruising grounds.

Also on display are Duncan’s never-before-shown drawings, which inspired major works like “Bathing” and “Venus and Adonis” currently in the Tate collection.

Also explore contemporary works by Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Jean Claracq, David Lock, Matthew Ansell, and anonymous East Anglian artists.

Together, they reflect on Duncan’s work, private and public queer spaces, such as dating apps, sexual health education, and autistic social stories around intimacy and care.

Exhibition development

Duncan Grant: Worlds Through Desire: From Drawing to Cruising to DMs acts as a second chapter to our 2025 exhibition Voyager 2000: Worldbeing & Wonder.