In the wake of a court ruling that it must allow men into the female-only exhibition “Ladies Lounge” at Hobart, Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), the show’s curator shifted some of its Picassos to the women’s restroom. Curator Kirsha Kaechele, whose husband, multimillionaire gambler David Walsh, owns the museum, on June 24 posted to social media a video showing at least two of the Spanish artist’s paintings occupying the walls of the toilet, which, she noted, had previously been unisex, like the rest of MONA’s bathrooms.
References: this article is based on content originally published by News Desk on Artforum. You can read the full article here.
“Just for ladies,” wrote Kaechele, an artist in her own right. “The Ladies Lounge had to close thanks to a lawsuit brought on by a man. And I just didn’t know what to do with all those Picassos.”
References: this article is based on content originally published by News Desk on Artforum. You can read the full article here.
“Ladies Lounge” opened in 2020 as a comment on the men-only spaces prevalent in Australia, where women were not allowed to enter public bars until 1965, after which they were admitted, but were frequently shunted to an area known as the ladies lounge, where drinks were more expensive. At MONA, only female visitors were allowed to access the exhibition’s richly furnished space, where the aforementioned Picassos were on display alongside jewels and antiquities.
References: this article is based on content originally published by News Desk on Artforum. You can read the full article here.
In 2023, museum attendee Jason Lau sued the institution for discrimination after being denied entry to the exhibition. The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal this past April ruled that “Ladies Lounge” was discriminatory and told the institution it had twenty-eight days to stop denying entry based on gender. MONA instead shuttered the exhibition.
References: this article is based on content originally published by News Desk on Artforum. You can read the full article here.
“Given the conceptual power of the artwork, and the value of the artworks inside the artwork, [Lau’s] detriment is real,” Kaechele told the New York Times in an interview conducted before the ruling. “He’s at a loss.” The Times reported that a second man had filed a complaint alleging that the show was discriminatory. “I said, ‘Well, you did get to experience the artwork, because the exclusion of men is the artwork,’” Kaechele told the paper. The man dropped his complaint.
References: this article is based on content originally published by News Desk on Artforum. You can read the full article here.
The curator, who has said she will appeal the decision before the Supreme Court of Tasmania, in a statement emailed to multiple news organizations invited women to “take a break and enjoy some quality time in the Ladies Room,” while she works out a legal way to bring the show back to life.
References: this article is based on content originally published by News Desk on Artforum. You can read the full article here.
