Kirsha Kaechele is an absolute icon and a fighting force for the feminist movement. Her voice and her art are extremely powerful, meaningful, and inspirational. In 2020, Mona opened an exhibition named the ‘Ladies Lounge’, holding some of their most acclaimed work. Kaechele states that the exhibition is a “reset from this strange and disjointed world of male domination”. So, why has a man tried to take that away from her? The answer is misogyny and insecurity. Here, I will explain the court proceedings which followed this exhibition and how, spoiler alert, Kaechele managed to appeal this case, rightfully so.
So, who is kirsha kaechele?
Kirsha Kaechele is a contemporary art curator, artist, and practitioner of sustainable building design from America. She is the founder of KKProjects: Life is Art Foundation, which was established on the appreciation for natural order and ecological systems. This aimed to marry art with human social order, ecology, agriculture, and architecture. However, as of current, she has been all over the news and social media for her Ladies Lounge at the Mona Museum in Tasmania, Australia and the ‘controversy’ and court proceedings surrounding it. So, let’s dive deeper into why this Ladies Lounge could be controversial. And by controversial, I mean controversial in the opinion of a man.
What is the ‘ladies lounge’?
The Ladies Lounge at the Mona is an art exhibition for women only, reflecting the historical exclusion of women from spaces dominated by men. This aimed to provide men with the experience of discrimination that women have been experiencing for centuries. And clearly it worked considering a certain man had a problem with it, resulting in a court proceeding, ultimately leading to Kirsha Kaechele being sued over this lounge. God forbid there be spaces dedicated for only women, right?! Even worse, how can there be powerful female voices in the 21st century, am I right? Please, the fact that misogynistic and patriarchal narratives are still a thing is getting exhausting now.
The court proceeding
Jason Lau, a man, complained to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal who then ruled that the Ladies Lounge (meant for women, which is literally said in the name) was required to open its doors for men as well. Kaechele was also sued for discrimination against men. Crazy, right? It’s just ironic considering women have been excluded from so many spaces for centuries but it’s only a problem when men get excluded. Bizarre.
At court, Kaechele was accompanied by 25 women all dressed in the same outfits and they moved completely in sync with one another. The tribunal thought that this was “inappropriate, discourteous, and disrespectful”. Kaechele later stated that this appearance was intended as performance art.
During the testimony, Kaechele stated that women “deserve both equal rights and special privileges in the form of unequal rights” as reparation for the historical discrimination we have been forced to endure. I found this quote very intriguing as it implies that while women should have equal rights, there should also be a consideration of “special privileges” to compensate for past injustices. The term “unequal rights” in this context can imply affirmative action or additional benefits aimed at levelling the playing field.
So, what is the future of the Ladies Lounge after this ruling? It was quite unclear. Mona’s legal representative said that they might close the lounge since it’s being forced to allow men access which completely undermines the point of the gallery. However, Kaechele said that she might attempt to turn the exhibit into a toilet area to invoke the legal exemptions. Women only area = toilet. It’s a shame that she thought about reducing it to this rather than have an actual gallery for women only. A classic example of a man ruining things for women. These toilets were to be installed by June 2024 with the art previously installed in the lounge. However, things changed after the appeal.
The appeal
At the appeal, Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice Shane Marshall overturned the tribunals decision! Marshall stated that the Ladies Lounge was legitimate because it aided in “highlighting the lack of equal opportunity” women have compared to their male counterparts. The absolute icon herself, Kirsha Kaechele, responded to this with “the verdict demonstrates a simple truth: women are better than men”. And I couldn’t agree more.
She won the appeal, stating that the lounge intentionally excludes men, providing them with the experience of discrimination that women have been experiencing forever. This appeal means that the lounge can reopen and men can be rightfully excluded due to section 26, which promotes equal opportunity for disadvantaged groups, and the legal team was allowed to qualify women in this.
Kirsha Kaechele says that men can keep appealing if they really want to, but they’ll never get to her. She said “we’ll see how the men take it. The men are a little hysterical, I’m a bit concerned. They’re troubled by the power of women. They may appeal, but they’re not appealing to me.” ICONIC.
At the last Supreme Court hearing, her and the women accompanying her, wearing the same outfits, danced out of the courtroom, reflecting Kirsha Kaechele’s love for performance art.
Kaechele actually thanks Jason Lau for initiating this process as it brought her work to life. He showed exactly what the exhibition meant. She made him feel discriminated against and this was the entire point. If men are claiming to be tired of being discriminated against, imagine how tired women are of it.