Trans-Inclusive Cultural Partnership

A partnership of cultural organisations across the UK, working to advance trans inclusion across museums, galleries and heritage organisations.

The Whitworth has joined a partnership with the University of Leicester’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG) and leading UK museums and galleries to support a step change in the capacity and confidence of the UK’s culture sector to advance trans inclusion.

Confirmed partners include Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, Culture Leicestershire, Glasgow Women’s Library, National Museums Liverpool, National Museums NI, The New Art Gallery Walsall and the Royal Air Force Museum, with more organisations joining as the partnership develops.

The initiative has emerged in response to growing recognition of the need for support for cultural organisations as we seek to advance trans inclusion and equity, especially in the face of rising hostility toward trans communities, misinformation about trans lives, and a complex and shifting legal landscape.

The Whitworth is a proud trans-inclusive gallery. As such, we will be working closely with a team of experts in trans inclusion, equality law and ethics to develop new guidance and practical resources for the UK’s culture sector, which will be launched in 2026.

Discover the current Trans-Inclusive Culture booklet, published in September 2023: Trans-Inclusive Culture: Guidance on advancing trans inclusion for museums, galleries, archives and heritage organisations

As part of the cultural partners project, we worked together with a team of experts to share our experiences and insights into the co-production of the following resources.

There are six resources that are freely available to download for use alongside the Guidance:

Generating a trans-inclusive culture: a briefing note for senior management. This resource provides a template with key information that you can use to prepare a briefing for management and leadership teams on trans inclusion.
Discussing trans inclusion in the workplace: a tool for team leaders and managers. This resource identifies 6 key principles and provides guidance relevant to each that can help leaders and managers hold discussions around their organisation’s commitment to trans inclusion.
Supporting Visitor Experience teams to provide a warm welcome to – and ensure the safety of – trans visitors. This resource outlines 5 interrelated areas that organisations should consider in building the capacity and confidence of visitor experience teams to take this work forward.
Scenario: Ethical partnerships. This scenario considers how cultural organisations can work to develop partnerships that are ethical, equitable and beneficial to trans communities.
Scenario: Ethical interpretation of trans lives and histories. This resource considers how cultural organisations can ethically interpret and publicly present stories, collections and artworks related to trans lives, past and present.
Scenario: Anti-trans stickering, defacement and placement of print materials. This resource provides advice to cultural organisations on the steps they can take if they experience stickering and graffiti in their public spaces.