Lesbian and gay bodies in queer spaces

In 2001 I was asked to step out of my comfort zone as an academic to co-curate and research an exhibition about lesbian and gay lives at a regional museum in western Sydney. The exhibition drew on the experiences, geo-cultural images and voices of individual and community embers, lives that usually remain invisible to those who live where the pink dollar is actively sought, and where itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s chic and relatively safe to be ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“gayââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢. As an academic it opened up opportunities to develop new ways of communicating information and stories in a nontraditional form, one which lent itself to working across several communities and disciplines. The result was a coming together of various communities ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ lesbian, gay and straight ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ into unusual but generally positive relationships that instilled many people with a sense of pride and well-being.