The Beat goes on: The glitterball Queer life of the ’90s
The 1990s was a pivotal time for LBGTQI+ culture in Queensland and a new social history exhibition at Queensland Museum celebrates that.
The Queensland Museum’s engaging new social history exhibition focusing on queer identity and club culture is as diverse as it is inclusive.
Because that culture intersected with our wider culture as we emerged from what could be regarded as the bad old days, if you were different.
The strange thing is, though, that in Queensland when the government was repressive there was a flowering of arts and culture. Music and queer culture may have been a bit underground but it thrived in their own way because people were determined to be themselves and to live their own lives.
Make a Scene: Fashioning Queer Identity and Club Culture in the 90s, which is now showing at Queensland Museum, spotlights the vibrant collision of fashion, popular culture and LGBTQIA+ lived experiences that defined the early 1990s in Brisbane.
By then the Joh era had come to an end but things were slow to change in some ways but, thankfully, they did change.
Make a Scene is the first social history exhibition of its kind at the museum, offering a colourful journey through a pivotal time in Queensland’s LGBTQIA+ history, through the lens of fashion.
Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Queensland, the exhibition brings together fashion, pop culture and powerful personal narratives to uncover untold stories from a time of incredible social and cultural change.
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Photographs and personal stories shine a light on the important role fashion played in LGBTQIA+ lives and the flourishing nightclub and dance party scene that defined a new youth culture at the beginning of the 1990s, a celebration of creativity, self-expression and pride.
There are disco balls and lots of glamourous fashions
Remember The Beat nightclub in Fortitude Valley? Plenty of us do because everyone went there, and it was a place particularly accepting of LGBTQI+ people. The entrance to the exhibition features a front counter to suggest you are arriving at that venue. It’s cool and nostalgic in equal measure.
There are disco balls and lots of glamourous fashions. The exhibition features more than 70 ensembles from Queensland Museum’s fashion and textile collections alongside the garments from community, designers and some famous archives. There are plenty of didactic panels telling the story as you move through this very entertaining exhibition.
Exhibition curator and head of cultures and histories at Queensland Museum Christopher Salter says the early 1990s were a defining era for Brisbane’s queer community.
“This exhibition shines a light on a time of dynamic change and how the way we dressed not only expressed our identity, sexuality and personality on the dancefloor, but also helped us find ‘our tribe’, and sense of belonging and safety,” he says. “Make a Scene captures the energy of the ’90s through brilliant fashion, powerful pop culture and the voices of those who lived it.
“We are grateful to LGBTQIA+ community members, historians, artists and advocacy groups who have contributed to the exhibition, ensuring these stories are told with authenticity, respect and heart.”
Visitors can expect standout pieces from iconic local independent designers from the era including Mark Wilson (Hairy Dog), and Chrissy Feld and Kenn Bushby (Glamourpussy), a recreated nightclub experience. There are also contributions from cultural icons such as Darren Hayes, The Huxleys and Kylie Minogue, and costumes from much-loved Australian film Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
New commissions from Brisbane-based labels Bulley Bulley (Bianca and Kiara Bulley) and Pig Suit (Rhiannon Daly) will reflect contemporary trends in queer fashion.
Whether you lived through the ’90s or are discovering its bold spirit for the first time, Make a Scene invites you into an era where the dancefloor became a runway and every outfit told a story. The introduction to the exhibition says it all:
“As the 1990s dawned, the winds of change were blowing. After year of protest and activism, the feeling that came with the decriminalisation of homosexuality gave us breathing space, and a renewed optimism for a safer and kinder world.
“We left the regions and the suburbs to find our authentic selves on the dancefloors in Brisbane’s inner city. The new sounds of house, techno and trance were our soundtrack. Beyond just hedonism, and much‐needed escape, our nightclubs were places of safety, belonging and community.
“Dancing was our culture. We danced because we had to. We danced to ease the pain. We danced to remind ourselves we were still alive, and to mourn those gone too soon. We danced to tell the world we wouldn’t quit fighting for equality and acceptance, and we didn’t.
“We shook off the uniforms of the conservative mainstream, and the dress codes adopted by our elders to ‘pass’. Individuality was in. The clothes we wore represented and expressed our identity, our sexuality, our desires.
“Our fashion choices also helped us find our tribe – where we belonged in the scene. We dressed up to stand out, and fit in. The dancefloors, the music, the fashion and our expressions of self were more than moments in time; they were acts of pride, resilience and love.”
This exhibition is not what you normally expect from a museum famous for dinosaurs and blockbuster exhibitions focussing on Ancient Egypt and other more mainstream fare. So it’s surprising – delightfully so – and Christopher Salter’s informed curation makes it something of a time capsule and a bit of retro fun.
Make a Scene: Fashioning Queer Identity and Club Culture in the 90s is a free exhibition continuing at Queensland Museum until July 2026.