LGBTQIA+ Cultural Barometer

The LGBTQIA+ Cultural Barometer is a research project aiming to measure, understand and articulate the current climate surrounding LGBTQIA+ cultural programming and creatives in the UK.

We have been hearing from an increasing number of artists, organisations, and venues who are experiencing anti-LGBTQIA+ backlash ranging from hateful comments on social media to in person protests, event cancellation, and even threats against the safety of artists, staff, and audiences. It is our belief that these experiences pose a genuine risk to LGBTQIA+ culture in the UK, impacting us emotionally, physically, financially, and professionally.

The project is being led by Curious Arts in partnership with Marlborough Productions and Fatt Projects. Our intention is to understand the experiences, pressures and impact of backlash, publish a report sharing the findings of this research, and to bring together the wider cultural sector together to consider ways to respond to the findings of the report in 2026.

If you work in the UK’s cultural sector and have experienced anti-LGBTQIA+ backlash in the last five years we want to hear about your experiences so that we can start to build a national picture of what’s happening and think about how we can respond.