If you want an inclusive community, you’ll have to help build it.
Host an LGBTQ+ History Exhibit
Bring LGBTQ+ history into your library, campus, workplace, community center, conference, or event with a professionally curated traveling exhibit from Expanding Horizons.
Our exhibits are designed to be easy for organizations to host and meaningful for the people who encounter them. Each installation arrives ready to display, with freestanding retractable banners that can transform an ordinary space into an opportunity for discovery, reflection, and conversation.
Bring History Into Your Space
A traveling exhibit can be a centerpiece for a heritage-month observance, a complement to an educational program, an addition to a conference or Pride event, or a way to make LGBTQ+ history visible in your everyday environment.
Expanding Horizons exhibits are built for real-world organizations. They can be hosted in libraries, galleries, student centers, conference spaces, community centers, workplaces, and other appropriate indoor environments.
You provide the space and local coordination. Expanding Horizons provides the exhibit, shipping materials, and the historical interpretation.
Designed for easy installation
Our exhibits use freestanding retractable banners. No wall mounting or permanent installation is required.
Most hosts can have an exhibit ready for viewing with minimal setup time.
Built for self-directed exploration
Visitors can encounter the exhibit at their own pace, whether they spend a few minutes with a single story or take the time to explore the entire installation.
Exhibits can also serve as a foundation for lectures, workshops, facilitated conversations, classroom activities, volunteer engagement, or other programming.
What's Included
YOUR EXHIBIT RENTAL
✅ Curated historical exhibit
✅ Freestanding retractable banners
✅ Protective shipping container
✅ Outbound UPS shipping
✅ Prepaid return shipping label
✅ Host-ready installation
Shipping costs quoted separately
How Exhibit Rentals Work
1. Choose an exhibit
Explore the available traveling exhibits and identify the one that best fits your audience, space, and programming goals.
2. Confirm your dates and space
We'll confirm availability, rental dates, shipping requirements, and any special considerations for your installation.
3. Reserve your exhibit
A 50% deposit is required to guarantee your reservation. Your rental period is confirmed when the deposit is received.
The remaining balance is due two weeks before outbound shipping.
4. Receive and install
Your exhibit arrives in its shipping container with everything needed for display.
Set up the retractable banners in your approved indoor space and you're ready to welcome visitors.
5. Host your exhibit
Display the exhibit throughout your rental period. Hosts are responsible for reasonable supervision, security, and care of the exhibit.
6. Return the exhibit
Expanding Horizons provides a prepaid UPS return label by email the week before the exhibit must be returned.
Securely repack the exhibit, attach the label, and drop the container at a participating UPS Store. Keep your receipt.
UPS pickup can also be arranged for a fee paid directly to UPS.
What You’ll Need
Hosting an Expanding Horizons exhibit is intentionally straightforward.
Appropriate space
Exhibits must be displayed indoors in a secure, climate-controlled environment. Covered outdoor spaces may be permitted with prior approval.
The exhibit should be protected from:
Extreme temperatures
Direct sunlight
Moisture
Improper handling
Conditions that could cause permanent creasing or other damage
Space for the exhibit
Each banner requires approximately 3 linear feet of display space. Individual exhibit specifications vary, so check the exhibit's portfolio page when planning your installation.
Someone to receive and set up the exhibit
The renter is responsible for receiving the shipment and setting up the banners.
The exhibits are designed to make this manageable without specialized installation services.
A plan for returning it
You'll need to repack the exhibit and return the shipping container by the agreed-upon deadline. Expanding Horizons supplies the prepaid return label.
Rental Costs & Payment
Exhibit rental fees vary by exhibit, rental period, host organization, and event.
Shipping is quoted separately. The renter is responsible for round-trip shipping costs.
Reservation
A 50% deposit is required at booking to guarantee the reservation.
The remaining balance is due two weeks before outbound shipping.
Sales tax
Wisconsin law requires Expanding Horizons to collect and remit sales tax on exhibit rentals.
Nonprofit organizations and governmental units with a valid Wisconsin Department of Revenue Certificate of Exempt Status (CES) may qualify for exemption.
To claim the exemption, the renter must provide a completed Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate (S-211E), including its CES number, before the exhibit ships.
If the required documentation is not provided before shipment, applicable sales tax will be added to the rental fee.
Shipping & Returns
Expanding Horizons handles the outbound shipment using UPS.
The renter is responsible for all round-trip shipping costs, including return shipping and any additional shipping required if UPS is unable to deliver the exhibit.
Before the exhibit's return deadline, you'll receive a prepaid UPS return label by email.
Simply:
Pack → Label → Drop Off → Keep Your Receipt
You may also arrange a UPS pickup for a fee payable directly to UPS.
Your Responsibilities as a Host
Once the exhibit arrives, it is in your care for the duration of the rental period.
Care and security
Exhibits must be kept in an appropriate, secure environment and protected from conditions that could damage the banners.
Damage or loss
The renter is responsible for damage or loss during the rental period.
Tearing of vinyl banners constitutes a total loss and is not considered normal wear and tear.
Banner replacement costs start at $225 per banner and may change with market conditions.
Insurance
Expanding Horizons recommends that renters maintain appropriate property insurance during the rental period.
Check with your organization to confirm that your existing coverage protects rented property.
Promoting Your Exhibit
You're welcome to promote your exhibit through your organization's website, social media, email communications, printed materials, event calendars, and other channels.
Please include this credit on promotional materials:
This exhibit is presented courtesy of Expanding Horizons (ExpandingHorizons.lgbt).
The exhibit itself may not be altered or modified.
Additional displays, artwork, literature, or programming may accompany the exhibit when they are consistent with its themes and educational purpose.
A Few Important Ground Rules
Expanding Horizons exhibits are educational works created to promote historical understanding and community learning.
Hosts agree not to use an exhibit to promote hate, incite violence, deny established historical events, or otherwise contradict the educational intent of the exhibit.
This includes, for example:
Blossom & Wilt: The exhibit may not be used to promote Holocaust denial or antisemitism.
Decolonizing Queerness: The exhibit may not be used to promote white supremacy.
The Power Here Is You: The exhibit may not be used to deny that HIV causes AIDS or characterize AIDS as moral retribution or divine judgment against LGBTQ+ people.
All exhibits: Promotional materials and associated programming may not contain anti-LGBTQ+ messages or polemic content.
Renters must also affirm that they are not, and are not associated with, recognized hate groups.
These requirements protect the integrity of the exhibits and help ensure that organizations hosting them are providing an environment consistent with their educational purpose.
Ready to Host?
Whether you're planning LGBTQ+ History Month, Pride programming, a conference, a library exhibition, a campus event, or an ongoing community installation, an Expanding Horizons exhibit can give your audience an opportunity to encounter LGBTQ+ history in a physical space.
Have a particular audience, event, or space in mind? Let's talk about it.
FAQ
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Each banner requires approximately 3 linear feet of display space. The total space required depends on the number of banners in the exhibit.
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No. Expanding Horizons exhibits use freestanding retractable banners and do not require wall mounting.
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Standard exhibit rentals are designed for host self-installation. Your organization receives the exhibit and is responsible for setup and teardown.
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Yes. The renter is responsible for round-trip shipping. Shipping costs are quoted separately from the exhibit rental.
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Earlier is better, particularly for popular dates such as LGBTQ+ History Month (October), Pride events (typically June), and major conferences. Availability is only confirmed when your deposit is received.
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Yes. Rental periods vary depending on the type of host and event. Contact Expanding Horizons to discuss the dates you're considering.
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Exhibits must normally be displayed indoors in a secure, climate-controlled space. Covered outdoor installations may be approved in advance.
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Yes. Additional artwork, literature, signage, or programming may accompany an exhibit when consistent with its themes and educational purpose. The Expanding Horizons banners themselves may not be altered.