Gilbert Baker: Rainbow Flag

Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Straße 50, 10785, Berlin

July 4, 2026 – September 6, 2026

The Rainbow Flag, now known as the global icon of the LGBTQ+ movement, was first presented in this form at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade in July 1978. A group led by the artist and activist Gilbert Baker wanted to complement the ‘pink angle’, which until then had often been used as a symbol of the movement, with its NS symbolism with a positive and self-chosen sign. Baker had found the shape of the flag, according to his own statement, by the impressive presence of the U.S. flags on the 200th anniversary of the United States. In 2015, the original artwork was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art and exhibited for the first time in June of the same year. The Rainbow Flag can be seen here as a loan from the MoMA.