Banner image of a colorful collage displaying four different people, each in unique hues, symbolising diversity and individuality

Make a Scene: Fashioning Queer Identity and Club Culture in the 90s


Opens 5 September 2025

Queensland Museum Kurilpa, Level 2

Map

Free

About

In the 1990s, a vibrant and creative underground nightclub and dance party scene emerged in Brisbane for LGBTQIA+ people and their allies – safe places to wear fabulous fashions that celebrated the community’s diversity and reflected a fearless self-expression of identity.

Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, this original exhibition by Queensland Museum brings together fashion, pop culture and LGBTQIA+ lived experience. Featuring extraordinary pieces from the museum’s costume and fashion collections, Make a Scene will reveal untold stories of Queensland’s LGBTQIA+ communities and illuminate key moments from this period of Brisbane’s history.

Exploring a diverse range of dress codes expressing LGBTQIA+ identity of the early 1990s, the exhibition will also highlight the works of two distinctly different, yet indelibly intertwined Brisbane-based labels that represent a new queer youth culture crystallising in Queensland at the time – Mark Wilson’s Hairy Dog, and Kenn Bushby and Chrissy Feld’s glamourpussy.

Journey back to the 90s dancefloor through fashion, objects and lived experiences generously shared by community, artists, designers and cultural institutions from Brisbane and beyond. The scene is set.

Accessibility

This exhibition features:
Map icon, light projections Light projections
Map icon, seating area Seating
Map icon, usually noisy Music/soundscapes
Map icon, low light Very low light

A sensory map and large print guide will be available after exhibition opening. For accessibility assistance and resources for this exhibition, please visit our accessibility page or contact the museum on (07) 3153 3000.

Learn more

Acknowledgements

Queensland Museum extends respect and gratitude to organisations and individuals across the LGBTQIA+ communities for sharing their stories and objects with us. The exhibition would not have been possible without this generous support. We extend our respects to those members of community who are no longer with us to share their stories, and for those that fought and continue to advocate for our human rights and equality.

Queensland Museum acknowledges our partner Queensland Human Rights Commission Queensland, support from individual donors and Nightlife Entertainment, Australian Queer Archives, Brisbane Powerhouse and MELT Festival, Melbourne Arts Centre, Museum of Art And Applied Sciences, Queensland State Archives, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and State Library of Queensland.

Stay in the loop!

Get the latest exhibition, events and programming activities at Queensland Museum Kurilpa every month, with our free eNews straight to your inbox!