Did you know that currently there Australia doesn’t have a dedicated memorial space for the LGBTIQA+ community within a cemetery? In fact, as far as we are aware, only one exists in the world.
Does our community even have an appetite for a memorial space within a Melbourne-based cemetery? By gathering input from community members, groups and key organisations, we hope to assess interest and viability for a potential space within cemeteries that creates a place of reflection, education and connection for queer individuals and their loved ones. The goal of this project is to understand community preferences so any future space can truly meet their needs and honour those who have passed.
Our community often comes together to celebrate or protest, but we rarely discuss our thoughts, feelings and desires in relation to death. While other communities, cultures and religious groups have long-standing traditions of how they memorialise their loved ones, our community, who often have strong “chosen family” connections, don’t have traditional methods of memorialisation. Your feedback could help to determine if there is an appetite for a space like this, and if so, could also inform future projects and initiatives to allow for a space to be designed and built in Naarm / Melbourne.
The success of this survey depends upon the strength of our queer networks, and we would greatly appreciate you forwarding this email on to your contacts within our community who will have voices on this matter.
Through an online survey and stakeholder consultations, we want to understand what a dedicated queer memorial space could look like to best serve the Melbourne LGBTIQA+ community’s needs. By gathering input from community members, groups and key organisations, we hope to assess interest and viability for a potential space within cemeteries that creates a place of reflection, education and connection for queer individuals and their loved ones. The goal of this project is to understand community preferences so any future space can truly meet their needs and honour those who have passed.
Click here to have your say.
Leave a Reply