Macon Reed: Eulogy For The Dyke Bar

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EulogyfortheDykeBar_NAS-Cafe_credit_JacquieManning — **Eulogy for the Dyke Bar, NAS Cafe, Credit Jacquie Manning**

The National Art School, UNSW Galleries and Sydney WorldPride present Eulogy for the Dyke Bar, an installation by American artist Macon Reed with accompanying programs and events.

This sculptural environment in the style of bygone lesbian bars is a functioning bar and community space for performances, conversations and socialising, created using ephemeral materials and archival material of now-defunct lesbian nights, parties and bars in Sydney and America.

It reclaims the term ‘dyke’ in its most broad sense and recognises that gender and identities are complex and fluid. The ‘bar’ is open to anyone who has identified with the term or an experience of feminine-spectrum queerness in the past or present (or perhaps future) and/or feels an affiliation or ally-ship with dyke culture.

Artist Macon Reed said, “Eulogy for the Dyke Bar was made to honour these places and draw attention to the fact that many are now gone. It also makes us think more about what kinds of alternative community spaces might be available and what makes them vibrant. It’s about thinking of our community beyond the dance floor and the progressive work we want to do beyond our intimate relationships. Creating spaces for collective coming together, organising politically, sharing experiences, jumping into histories, and meeting our elders seems like the necessary work that’s going to get us somewhere else, somewhere better.”