One of Australia’s most famous museums could be forced to close its ‘ladies’ lounge’ after a man was refused entry and took it to court, saying it was discriminatory.
Jason Lau said when he visited the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania, he was not told he could not go into the ladies lounge.
The ladies lounge – which is exclusive to people who identify as women – is the work of US-born artist Kirsha Kaechele, whose husband is MONA owner David Walsh.
Kaechele said ‘the rejection of men is a very important part of the artwork’ and that the ladies lounge is ‘titillating, it’s fun, it’s exciting … it’s naughty’.
In a statement to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where the case was heard on Tuesday, she agreed that men are disadvantaged by being denied access to the lounge.
The Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart could be forced to close its ‘ladies lounge’ after a Sydney man who was refused entry took it to court saying it is discriminatory. The lounge’s creator Kirsha Kaechele is pictured left
‘I side with Mr Lau and acknowledge that his description of loss is indeed substantial … The ladies lounge … holds several of the most precious artworks of the collection.’
Legal commentator Justin Lawrence told radio 3AW the case is ‘defensible on the basis that the legislation in Tasmania allows for an exemption where the discriminating act is used to highlight other forms of discrimination.
‘So, essentially the defence is saying “We admit its basis is in discrimination, but what we’re doing is highlighting the discrimination that’s been inflicted on women over the years and that’s the purpose of the installation.”‘
But Mr Lau rejected that defence, saying Section 26 of Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 ‘was designed to permit positive discrimination and not negative discrimination’.
‘This exhibit is clearly designed to reject all men … I would argue that it’s not in the spirit of section 26.’
Mr Lawrence said the case, which was heard by TasCAT deputy president Richard Grueber, may hinge on whether the ladies lounge ‘is designed specifically for that purpose, or really it’s got some sort of … a mean undercurrent to it’.
A large group of women dressed in navy blue and pearls attended the hearing to support Mona’s exclusion of men from the ladies lounge.
After the hearing, they danced out of the court to the tune of the Robert Palmer song Simply Irresistible.
Kaechele told the ABC that ‘The hearing really felt like the art coming to life, it was a living part of the work.’
She pointed out that it wasn’t until 1965 that women won the right to drink in a public bar in Australia and were instead relegated to ladies’ lounges.
‘Over history women have seen significantly fewer interiors,’ she said. ‘Power still absolutely lies with men regardless of what the law says.’
She told Daily Mail Australia that ‘we need the ladies lounge. A peaceful space women can retreat to, a haven in which to think clearly and relish the pure company of women.’
Kirsha Kaechele said the ladies lounge (pictured) was mostly about women drinking champagne, having a laugh, sitting on a sofa’
The Museum of Old and New Art’s ladies lounge (pictured) has been taking to a tribunal for refusing to allow men in
Kaechele said the ‘lounge ‘is an essential space for perspective and reset from this strange and disjointed world of male domination’.
She added that it was mostly about women drinking champagne, having a laugh, sitting on a sofa’.
The only exception to the lounge’s rules are its staff of male butlers ‘who live to serve women’.
If TasCAT rules that the ladies lounge has to either shut down or allow men in, Kaechele is prepared to take the matter to Tasmania’s Supreme Court.
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