In a reversal, the Tasmanian supreme court overturned a previous ruling that shuttered a women-only art installation at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart, Australia.
Artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele’s provocative work, titled Ladies Lounge, made global headlines when Jason Lau filed suit against the institution, claiming that as a man, his rights were violated when he was denied access to the installation in April 2023, after which he complained to Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, who referred him to the tribunal.
Kaechele argued, however, that pointing out hypocrisy is the purpose of the artwork, which references a moment in Australian history before women won the right to drink in the nation’s pubs in 1965. Until then, women were either relegated to side rooms, where they were charged exorbitantly, or barred from these kinds of establishments altogether.
The tribunal ultimately upheld the decision, ordering the museum to stop turning away male visitors to its Ladies Lounge installation. The museum responded by placing a toilet in the installation to circumvent the ruling.
Today, however, acting justice Stephen Marshall of the supreme court overturned the tribunal’s order, ruling that the Ladies Lounge was not discriminatory.
The “intention was to promote equal opportunity by drawing attention to present and past societal disadvantage to women by providing them with the concept of a ‘flipped universe’,” Marshall said. “[It provides] women with a rare glimpse of what it is like to be advantaged rather than disadvantaged.”
He pointed out that the tribunal failed to consider structural discrimination related to women’s status in Australia. The case will return to the tribunal for reconsideration.
“The [Supreme Court] judge’s verdict demonstrates a simple truth: women are better than men,” Kaechele proclaimed on Instagram after hearing of the decision. “The judge sided with the arguments put forward by our all-female team.”
Kaechele continued, “I believe in, and love, the Ladies Lounge. The artwork has melded with the world in a true marriage of life and art. I began as an artist, and became a feminist. The work has invited people all over the world to think about the experience of women and the social structures we inhabit.”
Intended to point out the hypocrisy, the Mona installation offered an opulent retreat for female guests, who were served champagne by male butlers. The exhibition also featured some of the museum’s most notable works by such artists as Pablo Picasso to Sidney Nolan.
“The court have taken a broader look at the purpose of the Ladies Lounge, and also appreciated that women’s experience of discrimination isn’t just historical but ongoing,” Mona’s legal counsel Catherine Scott said. “Today’s decision demonstrates how an artwork, and the Ladies Lounge in particular, can promote equal opportunity.”
