It’s been a long and winding rainbow road to get here, but the doors are now open to Sydney’s brand new museum. Qtopia Sydney delves into the rich, complex, at times tragic, and always defiantly fabulous history of LGBTQIA+ communities of the Emerald City, the nation, and beyond. Aligning with the 2024 Sydney Mardi Gras Festival, the museum is open to visitors as of Saturday, February 24, following an opening ceremony and special preview for invited guests on Friday, February 23 – and Time Out was there to get a first look. Three levels of government were represented at the launch, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Premier Chris Minns, and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore all showing their support.
The museum opens with no less than 17 thought-provoking and immersive exhibitions guided by five major themes: Human Rights, Sexuality & Identity, Media Representation, First Nations stories and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Each of these themes will be expanded over time, with new exhibitions opening in coming months.
It is education that can drive tolerance over intolerance [and] respect over hate.
If you find yourself asking why we even need a LGBTQIA+ museum in this day and age, just go to Qtopia Sydney, the answers are quite literally written on the walls. A team of curators from all areas of the arts have worked with researchers, historians, established museums, archivists, media organisations and private collectors to create a wide-ranging and deeply-considered pastiche of the triumphs, struggles and euphoria of people who have been othered and persecuted, and who have found community and acceptance together.
Speaking to the crowd at the opening event, CEO of Qtopia Sydney Greg Fisher said: “We pay homage to the countless members and allies of the Queer community in this country on whose shoulders we stand, who gave us ballast, who endured discrimination, separatism and ostracisation so that one day, their stories would be told.”
Establishing itself as the largest centre for Queer history and culture in the world, the Qtopia Sydney campus encompasses four buildings: the old Darlinghurst Police Station at 301 Forbes Street, The Bandstand in Green Park, The Substation, and The Toilet Block, all in the heart of Sydney’s Darlinghurst.
The most significant location, both in size and in meaning, is the former Darlinghurst Police Station. The heritage-listed building is intrinsically linked with the local area’s vibrant and violent past. In the 1970s and ’80s it was used as a lockup for gay men, as well as the peaceful gay rights protestors who were violently arrested in 1978, leading to the creation of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1979. The team behind Qtopia Sydney are reclaiming the site in an act to amplify the voices of those who valiantly fought for LGBTQIA+ rights.
"Qtopia Sydney’s new and permanent home in the former Darlinghurst Police Station is a significant space for Sydney LGBTQIA+ community. It will be an important place for education, engagement, and artistic expression,” said NSW Minister for the Arts, John Graham.
“This heritage-listed building holds a lot of history for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. It will provide a place for exploring ideas and foster a deeper understanding of history and current events. I am pleased to see it’s reimagining as a much-needed cultural space in the centre of Sydney.”
In addition to the opening exhibitions, Qtopia Sydney will also welcome guests across three performance venues, kicking off in March with a stacked program of theatre, cabaret, drag, music and more. There are already nine productions and two festivals programmed for 2024.
CEO Greg Fisher made a statement that really drives home the significance and potential of this project: “One of our wonderful patrons, Michael Kirby, when responding to what he thought was Qtopia Sydney’s main purpose, said ‘education, education, education.’ For it is education that can drive tolerance over intolerance [and] respect over hate. At a recent City of Sydney safety summit, University of Newcastle senior lecturer of criminology, Dr. Justin Ellis, spoke of the importance of ‘pre-bunking’ as a strategy to mitigate the spread of mis- and disinformation.
Mr Fisher continued: “Dr. Ellis noted that one of the Honourable Justice Sackar’s recommendations to the New South Wales government’s Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes was that there should be a comprehensive Queer heritage project. He said that Qtopia Sydney, hosting exhibitions exploring Sydney’s and the Queer history of Australia is such a response.”
Qtopia Sydney will now take its place as a significant cultural home, with its future resting with the community – adding content and context to stories as the years go on. The museum is now open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4.30pm. General admission is $15, $10 concessions and children under 18, and free for everyone on Sundays. Find out more at qtopiasydney.com.au.