Happy Mardi Gras: An evening with William Yang

Distinguished Australian photographer William Yang joined us for a special evening at the Library.
Two people in a night time parade dressed up in large, intricate, colourful costumes.

William Yang, Ron Muncaster & Jacques Straetmans, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, 1994, nla.obj-136859182

William Yang, Ron Muncaster & Jacques Straetmans, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, 1994, nla.obj-136859182

Over a three-course dinner in Bookplate, with drinks and coffee included, listen to William give a talk about his work and the current exhibition at the Library, William Yang's Mardi Gras.

Bookplate cafe at the Library set up with long tables set with white table cloths, wine glasses and flowers

Interior of Bookplate restaurant at the National Library of Australia.

Interior of Bookplate restaurant at the National Library of Australia.

William Yang, well-known for his work which documents the Sydney LGBTIQ+ community from the 1970s onwards, will deliver a presentation full of humour and compassion, giving his personal account of Mardi Gras and exuberant stories of gay life and culture in the Sydney scene.

This event offers a rare opportunity to meet the photographer and to dine in Bookplate after-hours.

Self-portrait of William Yang smiling, with white text describing his life from the late 1980s in the top left corner

William Yang, Self portrait with light meter, 1987, nla.obj-326461920

About the William Yang's Mardi Gras exhibition

The exhibition displays 23 photographs including Friends of Dorothy and Sadness, as well as one of David McDiarmid's Mardi Gras posters and a portrait of William Yang by Robert McFarlane.

Focusing on William Yang's photographs of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to tell its story, from its roots in the protests of the gay liberation movement, to the celebration of queer life that we know today. The display moves between themes of protest, community, the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the artistic direction of the parades under Peter Tully and David McDiarmid.

Event details
27 Sep 2024
6:30pm – 10:30pm
$114.50 per person
Bookplate café
Past event Talks and ideas
Places limited

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