Museum’s women-only ‘Ladies Lounge’ exhibit told to admit men

A MUSEUM’S women-only space featuring a Picasso has been ordered to admit men after a legal challenge revolving around discrimination and artistic freedom.

The Ladies Lounge, created by Kirsha Kaechele and billed as a living artwork within the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart in Tasmania, was intended to upend notions of misogyny and male patriarchy.

It took the concept of an old-fashioned Australian pub – a blokey, chauvinistic environment from which women were largely excluded until the 1960s – and turned it on its head, reversing themes of entitlement and sexism. Women were ushered in and served champagne by subservient male waiters – the only men allowed in the space.

But Jason Lau, from New South Wales, visited the museum in April last year and objected to being told he could not go into the Ladies Lounge.

A court in Tasmania ruled in his favour yesterday, ordering the museum to open up the attraction to male visitors.

Mr Lau argued that the museum had violated Tasmania’s anti-discrimination laws by failing to provide “a fair provision of goods and services in line with the law” to him and other men.

The museum had argued that the sense of exclusion and discrimination was key to the whole idea of the installation and was therefore legitimate.

That was rejected by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with Judge Richard Grueber ordering the museum to start admitting men within the next 28 days.

Mr Grueber said: “The refusal to permit Mr Lau entry to the Ladies Lounge was direct discrimination.”

He characterised the case as a “conflict between an artwork which deliberately and overtly discriminates for artistic purpose and legislation which has the objective of prohibiting discrimination”.

He said that while the Ladies Lounge had been established with a “good faith artistic purpose”, it still ran counter to discrimination laws.

A representative for the museum said: “We are deeply disappointed by this decision.”