An appeals court judge has ruled that the art gallery’s controversial Ladies Lounge is not discriminatory in refusing entry to men.
The controversial Ladies Lounge at Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art will be permitted to re-open and continue to refuse entry to men following a decision by the state’s Supreme Court that found it was not in breach of anti-discrimination law.
The lounge’s legal saga began when a NSW man, Jason Lau, complained to the tribunal after being denied entry to the lounge when he visited Mona in April last year. Lau represented himself at the tribunal hearing in March, appearing via video link. He argued that he had been discriminated against on the basis of his gender.
The artist behind the Ladies Lounge, Kirsha Kaechele, wife of Mona owner David Walsh, considered her options. Letting men into the space was not one of them, as that would run counter to the very point of the artwork, which comments on the historic and ongoing exclusion of women from situations and places, especially places of power and privilege.Kaechele closed the Ladies Lounge and appealed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
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