After we first of Sydney Council voting down the idea of a permanent LGBTI cultural centre and museum in the Oxford St precinct, due to a voting bloc of a coalition of independent councillors led by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore 鈥�听her office asked if we would run an opinion piece to explain why. However, she changed her mind and decided to tell her reasons to the good folk at .听
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In the meantime, we had offered Cr Christine Forster, who had introduced the proposal for the museum, a right of reply. She has read the Lord Mayor’s comments and responds. Suffice to say, she isn’t too impressed.
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The idea of a GLBTI exhibition space or museum on Oxford St has been widely discussed in the Sydney GLBTI community since at least 2012. The museum was the major GLBTI issue in the council elections of that year because it was the only issue over which the City of Sydney could have any influence.
The many, many community members with whom I’ve discussed the proposal for a permanent GLBTI museum have expressed enthusiastic and bipartisan support. Lord Mayor Clover Moore, however, still needs to be convinced.
On Monday, Clover Moore and her party resolved that 鈥渢he establishment of a permanent GLBTI museum [in Sydney] has not been identified as a priority or goal for the GLBTI community,鈥� on the basis that no group has emerged to develop one.
She voted for that resolution after defeating my proposal for Council to 鈥渋nvestigate the business case,鈥� for establishing, maintaining and staffing such a project.
The Lord Mayor now claims a museum is not a goal for the community despite the fact that she supported the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras鈥� highly acclaimed pop-up museum in a Council-owned property on Oxford Street, which operated for two months in 2013.
Mardi Gras has massive financial clout compared with any other GLBTI community group and yet the museum closed after the organisation admitted that it did not have the funds or staff to run it on an ongoing basis.
The unfortunate fact is that there is currently no GLBTI community-based organisation that has the financial resources and expertise to operate a permanent museum in Sydney. Without public funding, at least in the start-up phase, the museum cannot and will not be realised.
Like the state government-funded Art Gallery of NSW and Museum of Contemporary Art, a GLBTI museum could and should supplement any public funding with private, community-based income such as donations, sponsorships and membership fees.
The Lord Mayor justifies her opposition to the museum by saying it should not be run by politicians who might seek to influence the content of exhibitions. In reality, any council-backed museum would be run by a completely independent curator, just like the state government-funded Art Gallery of NSW and MCA.
According to the resolution passed by Clover Moore on Monday, the City of Sydney will take no leadership role in establishing a museum and do nothing proactive until some as-yet-to-be-identified community member comes with a begging bowl. Even then, it noted that 鈥渟uch a museum could only be established and sustained with strong community, state and federal government financial support.鈥� And this from a council that currently boasts cash reserves of $586 million.
Apparently Clover鈥檚 council, which donated $1 million to the redevelopment of the MCA and plans to spend more than $7.5 million turning the iconic T2 building in Taylor Square into a bike hub, cannot countenance even investigating what a GLBTI museum might cost.
As Clover Moore rightly points out, there are many more important GLBTI issues than a museum. Youth suicide, marriage equality, the expunging of gay men鈥檚 criminal records and transgender equality are all more pressing than the need for a museum on Oxford Street. But all those issues lie in the hands of state and federal governments, beyond the purview of local government.
As Clover Moore acknowledges, a GLBTI museum could be a major asset and tourist drawcard. But it could also be part of our community鈥檚 push for progress on the things that really matter. It would document the tragedies and celebrate the achievements of the past. It would promote diversity, equality, inclusion and community.
Despite the Lord Mayor鈥檚 ongoing opposition, I plan to continue to work with the GLBTI community to develop a proposal that will convince her of the merits of a permanent GLBTI museum on Oxford St Such a place would be an important addition to the city’s cultural, social and economic life.
you get, and appreciate, what you pay for, is my suggestion.
“As Clover Moore rightly points out, there are many more important GLBTI issues than a museum. Youth suicide, marriage equality, the expunging of gay men鈥檚 criminal records and transgender equality are all more pressing than the need for a museum on Oxford Street.”
A lot of people are using this argument, but given that one of the main purposes of a museum’s role is to educate, I think it’s an argument with some gaping cracks in it..
For those wishing to learn a little more of our communities history, check out ALGA (Australian Lesbian & Gay Archives) at
The 2013 pop-up Museum initiated and operated by SGLMG has given hope to the community that a permanent PRIDE focused museum is a possibility. The independent Museum Committee which I chaired for the delivery of the 2013 MG Museum exhibition did a great job in whetting our appetite for a permanent Museum and alerting us to the fact that we must actively preserve artefacts of our queer history. The role ALGA plays in this arena is extremely important and many thanks go to them for supplying a majority of the 2013 material. A learning from the Museum Committee is that to create a permanent LGBTQI museum, having the experience of professional museum/exhibition skilled people will be essential to the success of establishing a permanent space, as well as those skilled in attracting and maintaining philanthropic partners.