Exeter Pride bear

In 1978 artist Gilbert Baker, an openly gay man, designed the first rainbow flag as a symbol of pride for the gay community. Since then, the rainbow has been adopted more widely by the LGBTQ+ community. The colours reflect the diversity and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender.

Alan the bear is named after one of the founders of Exeter Pride, Alan Quick. In the early 2000s, Alan was a DJ and ran a gay nightclub on Exeter Quay called Boxes. He started work with the Intercom Trust which is a charity that works with LGBT+ people to improve wellbeing and inclusion across the Southwest. Together they planned the first Exeter Pride event held at the Phoenix and library in 2009. Since then, the annual event has expanded to include a march, stalls, films and live music.

“We really need to do something to show that there are LGBT people in Exeter” Exeter Pride Founder, Alan Quick in 2008

Find out more about Out and About: Queering the Museum. This is an intergenerational project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund aiming to empower lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) communities to uncover and create existing and new LGBTQ+ heritage at RAMM.