A new permanent home of Sydney\u2019s first Centre for LGBTQIA+ History and Culture will be officially open to the public from today at the site of the former Darlinghurst Police Station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new permanent home of Sydney\u2019s first Centre for LGBTQIA+ History and Culture will be officially open to the public from today at the site of the former Darlinghurst Police Station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This opening of the centre creates a new heart for LGBTQIA+ history, art and culture in the Oxford Street Precinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The heritage-listed site, previously associated with the jailing of Sydney\u2019s LGBTQIA+ community including some 78ers, has been remediated to host exhibitions, educational programs and evening performances that explore, celebrate and educate people on LGBTQIA+ history and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a key election promise delivered, the NSW Government handed over the site and committed $6.7 million towards supporting the establishment of Qtopia Sydney at the former police station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qtopia, a not-for-profit organisation committed to the empowerment and inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community will be responsible for the operation of the facility, supported by a governing board and an expert advisory panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea to create this centre came from Professor David Cooper who treated David Polson a founder of Qtopia and one of the first 400 people diagnosed with HIV\/AIDS in Australia and one of only 32 still alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Launching in Sydney in time for Mardi Gras 2024, the exhibits will feature historical and archival objects, imagery, video and audio, to tell some of the stories of this significant period within Australia\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NSW Premier Chris Minns said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis new centre turns the page on the history of the Old Darlinghurst Police Station and writes a new chapter that celebrates and recognises the proud LGBTQIA+ history and culture of our state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe couldn\u2019t be prouder to support the establishment of Qtopia Sydney as a testament to the inclusivity and diversity that have come to define our vibrant city and state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cQtopia will stand as more than just a testament to any one particular person or government, this centre will stand as a marker for us all as to how far we\u2019ve come in addressing inequality in NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council Penny Sharpe said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cQtopia turns the history of discrimination, violence and shame, to one of celebration, visibility and resilience of our diverse queer community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHappy Mardi Gras.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for the Arts John Graham said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cQtopia\u2019s new and permanent home in the former Darlinghurst Police Station is a significant space for Sydney LGBTQIA+ community. It will be an important place for education, engagement, and artistic expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis heritage-listed building holds a lot of history for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. It will provide a place for exploring ideas and foster a deeper understanding of history and current events. I am pleased to see it\u2019s reimagining as a much-needed cultural space in the centre of Sydney.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new permanent home of Sydney\u2019s first Centre for LGBTQIA+ History and Culture will be officially open to the public from today at the site of the former Darlinghurst Police Station. A new permanent home of Sydney\u2019s first Centre for LGBTQIA+ History and Culture will be officially open to the public from today at the … Continue reading “Sydney\u2019s first Centre for LGBTQIA History and Culture opens at the Old Darlinghurst Police Station”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25376"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25377,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25376\/revisions\/25377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}