The House
of Dorothy
[FR] [EN]




An installation art that invites the public to visit the home of Dorothy, the imaginary best friend of the LGBTQIA+ community. The House of Dorothy reimagines the domestic space as a site of memory, resistance and celebration, drawing on references from queer culture and its emblematic spaces. It is a domestic fiction that opens its door to intimate narratives and collective imaginations.



CATEGORY    Installation art 

YEAR    2025  
PLACE    Istituto Svizzero, Milan   





Since the 1950s in the United States, gay men, and later the broader LGBTQIA+ community, have been presenting themselves as ‘friends of Dorothy’ as a discreet way to communicate their gender identity or sexual orientation. In 1981, the U.S. Naval Investigative Service caught wind of this phenomenon within the military personnel in Chicago and launched a major investigation to catch Dorothy, hoping she would share the names of all her gay military friends.

At the intersection of queer history and spatial design, The House of Dorothy is an immersive installation that invites the audience to explore the imagined home — its rooms and corridors — of this fictional, wanted woman. Drawing on the philosophy of the absurd, the work tells her story through architecture, artefacts and various machines. 

It condemns this homophobic investigation that inspired it while honouring queer spaces around the world and the layered histories they hold. In a time when 67 countries still criminalise homosexuality and trans identities, this installation affirms the vital importance of these queer spaces — spaces of visibility, memory and belonging. 

A project by Vincent Grange.

CREDITSCurator    Lucrezia Calabrò Visconti
Installation    Maude Renevier, Laura
Team at Istituto Svizzero    Claudia Buraschi, Flavia Parea
Research assistant    Dafne Boggeri, Michele Bertolino, Sandra Cane
Event organisation    Barbara Casavecchia, Claudia Buraschi, Flavia Parea
Press partner    Esquire Italia, Mousse Magazine
Promotion    Miart, Milan Design Week

THANKS TO    Hsuan Lee, Tristan Bartolini, Philippe Buchs, Arthur Bigatel, Jeanne Caron, Ariane Grange, Marcel Rüdisühli, Simone Rüdisühli, Histoire Sans Chutes, Materiuum, HEAD Atelier Prototypage, HEAD Atelier Métal, Collectif Kimera
SIZE   10 m x 6 m x 2.4 m
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