Museum flies flag for Riverina LGBTIQ community

The Museum of the Riverina launches its groundbreaking exhibition We Are Here: Riverina LGBTIQ Stories next week, and to mark the occasion four rainbow flags will be raised on the banner poles on Baylis St near the Civic Centre.

This marks the first time that the Rainbow, or Pride, flag has been flown from Council infrastructure.

The flags will fly for the duration of the exhibition from 13 September to 6 November, which is on show at the Museum of the Riverina's Historic Council Chambers site.

We Are Here is an exhibition about some of the lesser known histories of LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer/Questioning) residents in the Riverina.

Original artworks, objects and stories explore the experience of coming out in a country town: the fierce loyalty, and occasionally blunt rejections of family, friends and neighbours, and the lengths people have gone to in the search for acceptance. The stories show how times have changed as communities become more diverse, and services more inclusive.

Very few exhibitions of this kind have been run in regional Australia to date. The Museum is proud to offer such a groundbreaking insight into the Riverina's history.

Importantly, the We Are Here story does not end when the exhibition comes down on 6 November. The Museum will work with other cultural institutions in our region to continue the collection of LGBTIQ stories. The Riverina Rainbow Collection is committed to preserving the local experiences of LGBTIQ people of the past and present. If you would like to contribute an object or story to the collection, please contact the museum.

We Are Here is the result of collaboration between the Museum of the Riverina and many generous people who shared their life experiences, loaned their personal objects and contributed research. It would not have been possible without the contribution and support of ABC Open, PFLAG Wagga (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), CSU Momentum and Dr Jessie Lymn, Charles Sturt University.

We Are Here is on display at the Museum of the Riverina's Historic Council Chambers site from 13 September to 6 November. Info and events at www.museumriverina.com.au

Media contact: Tim Kurylowicz 0403878442

Media Opportunity

What: Raising of the Rainbow Flags

Where: Baylis St, opp Victory Memorial Gardens

When: 9:30am Monday 12 September

Who: Sarah Adcock, PFLAG, Ray Goodlass (first openly gay councillor WWCC), Luke Grealy Manager Museum of the Riverina