Before the dual Labor and Perrottet government announcements,the museum’s future was uncertain beyond March 18. Presently,it is temporarily divided between the Bandstand in Green Park opposite St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and the National Art School,both in Darlinghurst.
The new permanent location – which is owned by NSW Health and used as administration offices – was the museum proponent’s preferred site as it holds significance for Sydney’s queer community as one of the central protest locations for the first Mardi Gras in 1978.
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Now known as the ’78ers,the protesters – some of which were assaulted,charged and thrown in jail – took to the streets supporting and celebrating New York’s Stonewall riots movement while also calling for an end to the criminalisation of homosexual acts and discrimination against the gay community.
NSW independent member for Sydney Alex Greenwich told theHerald the announcement “liberates a dark place for the LGBTQ community and turns it into the space of reflection and celebration”.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzardsaid a museum and memorial of past injustices will be a place of pride and justice for the ’78ers and the LGBTQI+ community.
Last Thursday,the Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch Foundation announced it would donate $1 million to fund Qtopia,queer publicationThe Star Observerreported. “I hope our donation will encourage many more corporates,foundations,and families to invest in what will be an amazing institution,” Sarah Murdoch said.
Separately,the City of Sydney council approved in May last year nearly $300,000in start-up funding for Qtopia.
Qtopia board member Ian Roberts said in comments provided by Labor that a bricks-and-mortar space for Qtopia will “become a beacon of hope for people all over NSW”.
“A safe space like this doesn’t just change lives,but also saves lives.”
Qtopia wants to commemorate the 1980s AIDS crisis by reproducing a room from the AIDS ward at nearby St Vincent’s Hospital. It would also be an entertainment venue with a theatre that provides educational talks during the day and artistic performances by queer artists at night,as well as a cafe or bar.
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Schools and corporate groups could visit for educational purposes,there would be a regular schedule of temporary exhibitions,and the museum would be pitched as a tourist destination.
The concept would fulfil the vision of David Cooper,an HIV and AIDS researcher,who wanted a museum to honour people affected by the disease. Cooper,who was one of two professors to diagnose the first case of HIV in Australia,died in 2018.
The announcement from Labor and the Perrottet government to hand over Darlinghurst police station as the home for Qtopia came less than 24 hours before the start of the Mardi Gras parade on Saturday night.
An estimated 12,500 people will march through Oxford Street in Sydney’s LGBTQ+ epicentre as part of the annual Mardi Gras parade – a return to tradition after it was relocated to the Sydney Cricket Ground due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions.
With Natassia Chrysanthos
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