A few weeks out from the Mardi Gras Parade, a pop-up museum in Oxford Street has been attracting visitors, and the celebrations have begun. The Sydney Mardi Gras Museum showcases the history of the gay, lesbian, sex and gender diverse Mardi Gras Parade and Party, from the 1978 protest to the present.
Broadcaster and gay activist, Julie McCrossin, was invited by the museum to speak about the activism and demonstrations in the 1970s. “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,” Ms McCrossin said.
The museum includes original newspaper clippings, photographs, videos and costumes highlighting the changing face of Mardi Gras over the years.
One photographer whose works are exhibited, William Yang, says that the museum is a chance for the gay community to come and share the history of their community.
He also believes that the exhibition needs to become permanent. “We would love the exhibition to be a permanent collection and I think we are lobbying the City of Sydney to get a building where we could house it. It’s very important that this exhibition stays together,” Mr Yang said.
Elaine Syron has taken thousands of photos over the years but has no place to share them with the public. For her the photographs enable an emotional connection. Photographing the Mardi Gras, she was 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.”
Ms Syron was overwhelmed at the prospect of a permanent museum in the near future where some of her collection might be housed.
