Australian Museum Appeals Court Order to Open Women-Only Exhibition to Men, Sparks Controversy

Lau was not allowed into the show. So that only women can continue to visit the collection, author and museum curator Kirsha Kaechele plans to convert it into women’s toilets The Tasmanian Museum of Old and New Art (MONA ) has been operating the lounge known as Ladies’ Lounge since 2020. The design of the lounge is based on old Australian pubs, which women were not allowed to visit until the 1970s. On the walls covered in green velvet are some of the rarest pieces in the museum, including paintings by Pablo Picasso.

“I am considering expanding the living room to include one of the greatest works of art of the 20th century and the most important toilet in history, The Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, ” Kaechele told the Australian media. “Of course men wouldn’t be able to see her, but women would like her.”

Jason Lau argued in court last year that the museum denied him and other visitors who do not identify as women “an equal supply of goods and services under the law” when it barred him from visiting the collection.

“Mr. Lau argues, among other things, that he could not experience the exhibition, although he paid the same money as the visitor. But the fact that the museum refused to allow him to continue on as part of the show,” said Kaecheleová. She pointed out that she thinks the court’s decision is short-sighted. The museum has been calling for a broader interpretation of Australian law, which allows discrimination if it promotes equal opportunities for disadvantaged groups.

The lounge has been closed since Tuesday. “Unfortunately, I had to take this step anyway so that the living room meets one of the conditions for exemption from the law,” said Kaecheleová. “To not break any laws , it could be a toilet, but also a church or a school, or a residential facility.”