Broadcaster and activist Julie McCrossin said: “The pop-up museum captures 35 years of activism to make homosexuality no longer unlawful or a mental illness and to be fully accepted into the police, defence force, churches, synagogues and mosques … It’s about profound social change.”
One photographer whose works were exhibited, William Yang, said the museum was a chance for the gay community to share the history of their community. He also believed the exhibition ought to become permanent.
At the City of Sydney Council meeting on Monday February 29 a decision was made to call for expressions of interest to purchase the T2 building adjacent to Taylor Square in Surry Hills. Labor Councillor Linda Scott voted against the proposed sale. She believes the site offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a LGBTIQ museum.
“Prior to the City purchasing the T2 building,” Ms Scott said, “the area was dangerous and frankly, in the heart of our city’s LGBTIQ district, a global embarrassment.”
Ms Scott has previously called for the City to support a museum space (in March 2014) to preserve the history and cultural artefacts of Sydney’s LGBTIQ community.
She said: “Sydney’s LGBTIQ community deserves a cultural space to celebrate and remember their history. With the rainbow flag flying proudly over Taylor Square, a LGBTIQ museum or cultural space can be a major drawcard for visitors to Sydney and invigorate interest in the history of Mardi Gras and the struggle for LGBTIQ rights. To sell the T2 building to the highest bidder is a lost opportunity to reactivate Taylor Square.”
The SSH supports the view that a permanent sex and gender diverse museum at Taylor Square is a worthy cultural prospect.
Documentary photographer Elaine Syron has taken thousands of photos at LGBTIQ events over the years but has no permanent place to share them with the public. For her the photographs enable an emotional connection. Photographing the Mardi Gras, she has been able to understand the world of her gay children and their community.
“I was able to be a peeping tom, in a way, on a community that my children were part of, so I was able to join them, in a way, rather than being on the outside … It was enlightening. It opened a door for me to understand the suffering and the pain and the bashing and all the trials you had to go through when people find out you’re gay or lesbian.”
