Kirsha Kaechele’s Ladies Lounge at the MONA is set to make an epic return, after the Tasmanian Supreme Court overturned a ruling that closed the women-only artspace for discriminating against men.
Last week, Kirsha Kaechele led a parade of women dressed in navy blue to the Supreme Court to launch the appeal of a verdict from the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) earlier this year.
The verdict from the TASCAT emerged from a case brought by a NSW man named Jason Lau, who argued the Ladies Lounge excluding men’s entry breached Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1998.
Whilst the TASCAT ruled in favour of Lau, Kaechele’s appeal at the Supreme Court has been successful: this morning, Acting Justice Shane Marshall overturned the TASCAT verdict.
During the hearing last week, Kaechele’s lawyer Catherine Scott explained to the court that her art space, the Ladies Lounge, is a “flipped universe” that intentionally excludes men, providing them with an experience of discrimination that women have experienced for centuries.
“That’s its purpose, that’s its reason for being,” Scott said.
“Women… can come in, men can’t and go away and think about why.”
Scott said Kaechele’s art space shows how women are “less respected, less valued and less powerful than men” in ordinary, everyday society, and Jason Lau, the man at the centre of the legal battle, “did participate in the artwork in the way that it was intended”.
Lau was not in court for the hearing last week. His lawyer, Greg Barns SC, argued the Ladies Lounge’s intentions were “vague and lacking context” and disputed Kaechele’s claim that the space actually promotes equal opportunity for men and women.
Ultimately, Acting Justice Marshall ruled in favour of Kaechele.
The Ladies Lounge was recently moved to the women’s bathroom in order to comply with the TASCAT ruling, which identified spaces that allowed for gender discrimination to include schools, churches and bathrooms.
Now, the MONA is permitted to re-open the Ladies Lounge in its original space and continue to exclude men’s entry.
Featured image: Kirsha Kaechele leading a group of women dressed in navy blue to the Tasmanian Supreme Court. Credit: @jessehunniford