WATCH: Before We Were Queer

A remarkable new art exhibit showcases images from queer history including lesbian nuns throughout the ages and a sculpture that recalls the first recorded relationship between two men.

Artwork in the exhibit dates as far back as the Song Dynasty in China (960 – 1279 CE), when Guanyin (the Chinese name for the Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva), began to be depicted as both male and female.

"The whole point of this is to share and celebrate our history," says Hugh Ryan, founder of the Pop Up Museum of Queer History. "It would be terrible to have people do this work and then have it disappear."

The collection is on display through August 31 at the Leslie + Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York.

Watch here!'s Josh Rosenzweig tour the exhibit below.