First Nations first at Sydney WorldPride
Image: Ben Graetz as Miss Ellaneous at release of Sydney WorldPride Guide. Photo: Daniel Boud
Ben Graetz is Festival Creative Director, First Nations for Sydney WorldPride.
Graetz was in Athens when the Sydney World Pride committee presented and then won their bid to host in 2023. It feels like a lifetime ago but also like yesterday. And now it’s almost here.
“Like all big events, it starts to become real now. That’s when the magic really happens,” says Graetz. As a descendent of First Nations people, Graetz is particularly proud of the diversity in the Sydney WorldPride program.
“Our curatorial priorities were to make sure that First Nations communities are front and centre; and the Asia-Pacific community, people of colour, transgender and gender diverse, elders and living legends, young people, women, and people living with disability.”
Highlights of the First Nations programming includes the Blak & Deadly Gala Concert at the Opera House; Marri Madung Butbut: First Nations Gathering Space; Koori Gras; Miss First Nation: Supreme Queen; Klub Village; and Daddy. There’s much more, too.
“I actually feel at the end of the day it’s gonna be an incredible celebration and a moment for us to gather because as First Nations Mob we really haven’t had an opportunity over the past two and a half years to gather” says Graetz, “and so there’s gonna be celebration, there’s gonna be politics, there’s gonna be, I’m sure, a lot of emotion as well. But I think at the core of it, there is gonna be a lot of joy.”
The First Nations Gathering Space will hold traditional yarning circles, providing a safe space for respectful conversations around colonisation and discussions about the history of queerness in the culture.
With a referendum on a Voice to Parliament expected later this year, the concept of national identity is front and centre in public discourse.
“I think there is a shift within Australia in how the truth, the real truth of our history is each day becoming more and more known. And I think a part of The Voice is about ensuring that our stories and truth-telling and all of these things continue to happen, because without all of that, you know, we’re not gonna move forward as a country.”
“And I think a part of that is recognising our LGBTQI sister girl, brother boy communities because we are a very diverse community and I think an event like WorldPride is able to show that.”
