The Australian Museum is inviting guests in after-dark for a special evening exploring pride and vampires.
The event, Bloodsuckers After Dark: Pride Night, is inspired by its hit exhibition Bloodsuckers: Nature’s Vampires.
The link may not be obvious at first, but Museum Director Richard Dilly told Gay Sydney Daily that the more they discussed the exhibition, the more it made sense to link it to a Pride night event.
“The exhibition is all about blood, and blood has been at the centre of some of the most important conversations around identity, stigma, fear and resilience,” he said.
“We take this, and overlay the queer-icon status of feared creatures like Dracula, and how they represent the ‘otherness’ experienced by LGBTQIA+ community members.”
The event is being held on Wednesday, June 24, with guests able to have a drink, explore the exhibition and attend the panel discussion.
Dilly said museums were a place to tell stories, and it was clear that they were seeking stories in new formats.
“I think people are looking for experiences that bring together culture, conversation and a social element, and after-hours events are a great way to do that.”
The panel on the night will be facilitated by SBS News presenter Anton Enus, and feature 78er and former Australian Museum Director Frank Howarth alongside Associate Professor Leigh Boucher.
They will discuss important questions, said Dilly, including how to tell the stories, and what role institutions can play.
“The discussion asks some important questions: who gets pushed into the shadows, whose stories are remembered, and what role places like the Australian Museum can play in bringing those stories into the light,” he said.
In fact, the very first Mardi Gras protesters marched straight past the Australian Museum in 1978, which makes it both a witness and a participant in the story of Sydney’s queer history.
More recently it became a participant in the Sydney queer story when, during WorldPride, the statue at the front became a Sydney icon.
The 10-metre-long model of a great white shark was wrapped in the Progress Flag during WorldPride, becoming known as Progress Shark, and quickly became a mascot for the event.
The spirit of Progress Shark lives on through the incredibly popular parody news page Progress.Shark.
“I don’t think anyone expected Progress Shark to take on a life of its own the way it did,” said Dilly.
“What was lovely was seeing how much joy people got from it (and continue to even today). It became part of their WorldPride experience and people really embraced it as their own.”
While Progress Shark no longer sits out the front of the museum, Dilly wouldn’t be drawn on whether they may return.
“Progress Shark enabled so much joy and conversation that I have no doubt its resurgence would have even greater impact.”
Tickets are on sale now for Bloodsuckers After Dark: Pride Night from under $24.
