Putting pride on the map

THE forecourt of the town hall has been painted rainbow, as the City of Greater Bendigo’s new progress pride flag mural was unveiled.

Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said the public street art is a symbol of the City’s support for the LGBTQIA+ community.

“The installation of the pride flag artwork is an important acknowledgement of and support for the LGBTQIA+ community,” she said.

“It also demonstrates that Greater Bendigo is an inclusive and welcoming city and I’m delighted to see it take pride of place in front of the Bendigo Town Hall.”

A mural of Edward De Lacy Evans has also been painted on Chancery Lane, celebrating one of the first publicly open transmen who lived in Bendigo in the 19th century.

The progress pride flag is an amalgamation of the original rainbow pride flag, along with black and brown stripes to acknowledge the indigenous and multicultural members of the LGBT communities, and the colours pink, light blue and white which are used on the transgender pride flag.

The unveiling of the public art works coincided with the launch of the 2022 Bendigo Pride Festival.

Festival director John Richards said while COVID-19 is still impacting major events, there will be about 40 different shows, exhibitions, and things to do during the festival.

“Our first wave of shows are on sale now,” he said.

“There’s an Uncle Jack Charles in Conversation event; the amazing actor will be up at Ulumbarra Theatre. We’ve got a forum about racism within the queer community, which is something that’s not really been discussed before.

“We’re doing a production of the Broadway hit Buyer and Cellar for two nights as a Bendigo exclusive, and we’re doing our first ever Pride in the Park on Saturday 19 March.

“There’s so many new things we’re doing this year, some it’s free, some of it’s not, but there’s something for everybody.”