Exhibition Dates: February 2024 – January 2025

Curator: Steven Ross (Curator September 2023 – January 2025)

The Original Activists was an inaugural exhibition, recognising First Nations LGBTQIA+ activism, creativity, and community leadership. The exhibition presents portraits and cultural material documenting the work of pioneers, artists, organisers, and advocates from First Nations communities.

The exhibition combines photographic portraits, artworks, video, and campaign and activist posters, creating a record of First Nations involvement in queer social movements. Featured contributors include Dennis Golding-Bowman, Arone Meeks, Nola Taylor, Jeffrey Samuel, Jai Walker, and Leonie Rhodes, alongside broader community representation.

Developed in partnership with Boomalli Aboriginal Arts Cooperative and the Australian Queer Archives, the exhibition builds on earlier First Nations–led projects and situates activism within cultural knowledge, kinship, and Country. Through its focus on lived experience and creative practice, The Original Activists documents the depth, continuity, and diversity of First Nations queer activism.