Judge says controversial women-only art exhibit is legal

A controversial women’s-only museum exhibit could soon re-open in Australia, after an appeal judge overturned a ruling that it breached anti-discrimination laws.

The luxurious Ladies Lounge at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart had sought to highlight historic misogyny by banning male visitors from entering.

It was forced to shut in May when one affected patron sued the gallery for gender discrimination and won.

But on Friday, Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice Shane Marshall found that men could be excluded from the Ladies Lounge, because the law allows for discrimination if it promotes “equal opportunity” for a marginalised group.

“(The Ladies Lounge provides) women with a rare glimpse of what it is like to be advantaged rather than disadvantaged,” he said.

Kirsha Kaechele, the artist who created the exhibit, called the ruling a “big win”.

“It took 30 seconds for the decision to be delivered – 30 seconds to quash the patriarchy,” she said in a statement.

“Today’s verdict demonstrates a simple truth: women are better than men.”

Mona has a longstanding reputation for being provocative, and the exclusive opulence and pageantry of the the Ladies Lounge – which opened in 2020 and housed some of the museum’s most acclaimed works – is no different.

Ms Kaechele said that she had created the space to highlight the exclusion Australian women faced for decades, such as the decision to ban them from drinking in the main section of bars until 1965.

She described the exhibit as a “flipped universe” that provided a much needed “reset from this strange and disjointed world of male domination”.

But one man felt that the message was unlawful, and after being denied entry into the lounge last year, New South Wales native Jason Lau took his case to the Tasmania’s civil and administrative tribunal.

Representing himself throughout the case, he argued that the museum had violated the state’s anti-discrimination act by failing to provide “a fair provision of goods and services in line with the law” to him and other ticket holders who didn’t identify as female.

Mona had responded by claiming the rejection Mr Lau had felt was part of the artwork – so he hadn’t missed out – but the tribunal dismissed that reasoning. Further, it found that women no longer experienced the same level of exclusion from public spaces as they had in the past.

The new ruling will now send the case back to the tribunal, which will have to reconsider its judgement.

A spokesperson from Mona said that several steps remain before the lounge can officially re-open – including the tribunal’s updated ruling.

But the legal team representing the museum said Friday’s decision recognised the intended purpose of the Ladies Lounge “to highlight and challenge inequality that exists for woman in all spaces today”.

“I look forward to sharing what comes next. I think a celebration is in store,” Ms Kaechele added.