Queer the Night poster

This poster advertised a night-time march on 9 June 2011 at Waitangi Park in Wellington, New Zealand. The march was in response to recent violent attacks on members of the queer community.

The Queer the Night Collective wrote: 'Attacks based on an individual's perceived sexuality or gender are an attack on us all.... The only real way to battle community violence is through community action...the march is not just about fear of being attacked on the street, but also the institutionalised homophobia and transphobia in our society. This march is about the fear of bullying in our schools. The discrimination trans-people face in the workplace. The fear of being shunned by our friends and rejected by our families.... Everyone has the right to express and explore their queerness without barriers' (http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1106/S00101/wellington-queer-the-night-march.htm).

The event demonstrated that discrimination and violence against LGBTQI+ communities persisted regardless of legal and societal progress.

Queer the Night

Queer the Night grew out of collectives running 'Reclaim the Night' events in Wellington from 1999-2009. There was a crossover between feminists running rape survivor support activism and youth support for queer students on-and-off campus.

One of the organisers of the 2011 event, Kassie Hartendorp, recalled: 'The Queer the Night Collective held a public meeting after the march inviting people in Wellington to talk about future action to challenge homophobia and transphobia in our communities. Just over ninety people attended a meeting in Trades Hall, Vivian Street - we couldn't even fit in the Ernie Abbott room, but had to pack out the foyer. A core group of people continued to meet and organise, and this soon became the Queer Avengers.' The Queer Avengers went on to run a Queer our Schools campaign in October 2011.

Design

The poster was designed by Sandi Mackechnie and features two symbols of the queer community: unicorns and rainbows.