The exhibitions include films, images, posters and audio celebrate the pioneering struggles and stories that have defined Victoria’s LGBTI community with two new digital exhibitions that draw upon material held in the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archive.

The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archive is the only community group in Australia that actively collects and preserves lesbian and gay material, and makes it readily accessible through exhibitions and loans.

Minister for Creative Industries and Equality, Martin Foley, said, “These exhibitions celebrate the creative strength and diversity of Victoria’s LGBTI communities and demonstrate how our cultural collections help tell the story of where we’ve come from and where we’re going as a community.”

Both exhibitions are now live on the Culture Victoria website and include films, images, posters, and audio.

Out of the Closets, Into the Streets explores the moment when, in the 1970s, a group of Melbourne students made a stand for gay pride at a time when homosexuality was criminalised, and discrimination and abuse were widespread.

It charts the rise of a Gay Liberation Movement that challenged the status quo to lasting effect.

Daylesford Stories explores how, since the late 1970s, Daylesford and the surrounding area has become home to many individuals who identify as gay or lesbian.

The project examines through the personal stories of individual community members, why it is they call Daylesford home, how the region became a place of meaning, and how definitions of the LGBTI communities have evolved over time.

Mary-Anne Thomas, a Member for Macedon, stated, “The community of Daylesford has long been inclusive and accepting, we are proud of our history and the role our beautiful country town has played in the long march to equality for LGBTI Victorians.”

The Culture Victoria website is a gateway to Victoria’s cultural collections, featuring thousands of images and hundreds of videos which bring to life items and stories from across the state.