Is the World of Art… A Man's World?
Kirsha Kaechele on the Ladies Lounge HERE.
Most people can say that they have been to an art museum in their lifetime, or have been able to say that they were able to perceive art in person. Many people cannot say that they have experienced an art exhibit that denied entry based on the person waiting to perceive said art. Within the Mona Art Museum in Australia, this is the case. This specific museum in Australia is being pushed by the court of law to allow men into their women-only exhibit. This is the case after one man named Jason Lau paid to enter the museum in April of 2023, but was not so pleasantly surprised to find out that his payment did not get him into the Ladies Lounge, a specific exhibit made only for those who identify as women. From here, he was very quick to sue the institution for discrimination.
The Ladies Lounge, created by Kirsha Kaechele.
The installation, created by Kirsha Kaechele, is a nod to how women were not allowed to drink in public pubs until the year 1965. Instead of being allowed in, most pubs included a “Ladies Lounge,” in which women and men could drink together, but the women were never admitted into these places alone or at all. The installation within the museum is supposed to act as a safe space for the women guests, even complete with a male butler serving them champagne. Both the museum and the artist were able to give ample information that being denied is part of the experience. “Part of the experience is being denied something that is desired,” (Aton, 2024). Catherine Scott is a woman on the Mona Museums’ council, and she was able to tell this to the public after the claims were made public about the act. Just as being denied is part of the experience, Kaechele also explains how ecstatic she is that the case has now ended up in court. She was able to further this by explaining just how the piece was “a response to the live experience of women forbidden from entering spaces throughout history,” which can further the idea of equal opportunity (Beazley, 2024).
Here is a link to an interview with Kirsha about the ladies lounge.
With Jason Lau claiming that his rights as a man have been violated, it has created a community uproar on social media and in real life surrounding the Ladies Lounge. Once he argued with the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, they were able to send him further to the tribunal. He was able to speak of the Ladies Loungecausing “direct discrimination” and furthered this by explaining just how “denying men access to some of the museum’s most important works, including artworks by Sidney Nolan, Pablo Picasso and a trove of antiquities from Mesopotamia, Central America and Africa was discriminatory,” (Beazly, 2024). Due to his speaking of the issue, Mona was found in violation of the Anti-Discrimination Act of the state. Now, the Tasmanian court has made the rule that the museum has 28 days to decide what to do with the exhibit, to stop turning away male visitors to the Ladies Lounge.
Coming out of this debate, Mona is now being asked to allow men access to the Ladies Lounge to perceive the artwork within the exhibit. The museum had stated before that “if they were ordered to allow men access, they would promptly remove the ladies lounge as that is the point of the work,” the museum has also stated that they are disappointed with the overall decision of the court (Beazley, 2024). Kaechele leaves us with one last statement through the hectic bicker, Kaechele told the BBC “If you were just looking at it from an aesthetic standpoint, being forced to close down would be pretty powerful,” (Aton, 2024). Whether the exhibit shuts down or keeps running, it serves as a good testament to the concerns that art can arise, along with great discussion to come from the topic of works such as these.
References…
Aton, F. (2024b, April 9). Australian Museum’s women-only exhibition must admit men to avoid “discrimination,” judge says. ARTnews.com. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/mona-women-only-exhibition-ruled-discrimination-admit-men-ladies-lounge-1234702249/
Aton, F. (2024a, March 21). Australian Museum faces lawsuit for artwork that men cannot enter. ARTnews.com. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/mona-sued-for-ladies-lounge-that-purposefully-excludes-men-1234700538/
Beazly, J. (2024, April 9). Mona ordered to allow people “who do not identify as ladies” into Ladies Lounge Exhibit. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/apr/09/mona-ordered-to-allow-people-who-do-not-identify-as-ladies-into-ladies-lounge-exhibit
Fortescue, E. (2024, April 10). Women-only art installation is “discriminatory”, Tasmanian Court rules. The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/04/10/women-only-art-installation-is-discriminatory-tasmanian-court-rules
I would love to know your thoughts on this.