Key Points
- Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art was closed its women-only Ladies Lounge exhibit earlier this year.
- A Supreme Court judge has quashed the tribunal decision that led to its closure.
- MONA curator Kirsha Kaechele welcomed the decision, saying that “in 30 seconds, the patriarchy was smashed”.
Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) has won a Supreme Court appeal against a lower court decision that saw the closure of an exhibit known as the Ladies Lounge.
The exhibit located inside the museum, with pieces of art displayed, and male butlers serving female attendees.
Tasmanian Supreme Court acting justice Shane Marshall quashed the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) decision on Friday and returned the matter to the same tribunal for reconsideration.
In his published reasons, Marshall said the tribunal made several errors of fact and law in its decision, including a: “mischaracterisation of what the Ladies Lounge was designed to promote and how that was intended to be achieved”.
Marshall said the tribunal had made an error by saying the Ladies Lounge only addressed “past disadvantage” that was “merely about access to spaces”.
The disadvantage addressed by the exhibit was instead about “ongoing gender disadvantage”, he said.
“Equal opportunity was promoted by highlighting the disadvantage by providing women with a rare reverse experience where they were advantaged and men disadvantaged.”
MONA curator Kirsha Kaechele, who launched the Ladies Lounge exhibit, welcomed the decision.
“This judge has decided that the Ladies Lounge can exist and it’s a day of triumph for us,” she said outside court.
“I’m very inspired by the occurrences in the courtroom today.
“In 30 seconds, the patriarchy was smashed, and the verdict demonstrates a simple truth — women are better than men.
“We’ll see how the men take it. The men are a little hysterical, I’m a bit concerned. They’re troubled by the power of women. They may appeal, but they’re not appealing to me.”
She was coy about when the Ladies Lounge would re-open.
MONA’s Kirsha Kaechele said she was “very inspired by the occurrences in the courtroom today”. Source: AAP / Ethan James
“There are plans in the works, and some kind of celebration is certainly due,” Kaechele said. “We will definitely be inviting women to come and celebrate with us.”
How did we get here?
Court proceedings started earlier this year after a visitor to the museum, NSW man Jason Lau, was denied entry to the Lounge because he is a male.
The Ladies Lounge’ creators said the space was designed to provide a safe space for women and highlight the discrimination and exclusion they faced.
Lau complained to Equal Opportunity Tasmania, saying he was discriminated against on account of his gender, contrary to Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
Tasmania’s anti-discrimination commissioner referred the matter to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which found the refusal to permit Lau entry into the Ladies Lounge was direct discrimination, prohibited under the Act.
It ordered MONA to “cease refusing entry to the Ladies Lounge to persons who did not identify as ladies”.
MONA decided to close the exhibit instead.
In its Supreme Court appeal, MONA didn’t deny the exclusion was direct discrimination, but argued it was permitted under section 26 of the Act, which says:
Any person may discriminate against another person in any project, plan or arrangement designed to promote equal opportunity for a group of people who are disadvantaged or have a special need because of a prescribed attribute.
On Friday, Marshall found the Ladies Lounge did fall within section 26 of the Act.
“The Ladies Lounge can be seen as an arrangement to promote equal opportunity by highlighting the lack of equal opportunity, which generally prevails in society, by providing women with a rare glimpse of what it is like to be advantaged rather than disadvantaged by the refusal of entry to the Ladies Lounge by men,” he said.
The matter will now return to TASCAT, and MONA’s lawyer, Catherine Scott, said she’s confident of a favourable outcome.
The Ladies’ Lounge exhibit was closed after Tasmania’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled it was discriminatory. Source: SBS News / Kerrin Thomas
“The [Supreme] Court took a broader look at what the purpose of the Ladies Lounge was, but it also appreciated that the disadvantage that the Ladies Lounge was directed at wasn’t just historical, which was critical to the tribunal’s findings,” Scott said.
“The case that was put on appeal and before the tribunal was that the disadvantage was ongoing.
“While Ladies Lounges themselves may no longer exist, the disadvantage for women in all spaces continues to exist.”
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