A rainbow flag will be displayed for the first time as an example of contemporary art design at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the 40th anniversary of the flag’s debut.
The public will be able to view the rainbow flag as an art object at the museum through July 8 in a gallery located outside the Great Stair Hall. The nylon flag is approximately 3-feet wide and 5-feet long.
Michelle Millar Fisher, the Louis C. Maderia IV assistant curator of European Decorative Arts, said that Baker’s flag is a design “that represents human rights and equity.”
“Baker was about the universality of love, human rights, civil rights and respect for others,” Fisher said. “The flag is an everyday object that everyone is familiar with and can connect with. Baker never trademarked the design, so the flag being on display highlights how accessible the design is for everyone. It’s a powerful and political design that the museum wanted to display not only for what it symbolizes, but as an example of modern and contemporary design.”
In 1978, led by Baker at the Gay Community Center in San Francisco, 30 volunteers hand-dyed and stitched the two original rainbow flags. They raised the flags at the United Nations Plaza during the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade to highlight LGBTQ issues as both a global struggle and a matter of civil rights.
Emily Schreiner, PMA’s curator of public programs, said the display initiates conversations about the role that flag plays in the world.
“This is a great opportunity to welcome the community into the museum on a pay-what-you-wish Wednesday night to honor the flag, which has always been a symbol of unity,” she said. “We’re bringing people in one of the greatest civic spaces in the city to engage with a piece of art that resonates with so many people.”
The flag’s 40th-anniversary celebration was held June 27 on the museum’s steps with remarks from Amber Hikes, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs. The Philadelphia Voices of Pride performed live as the rainbow flag was unfurled in the Great Stair Hall. The Gilbert Baker Foundation also featured a rainbow flag from its personal collection at the celebration.