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ACON – John McRae Photography & Studio

Tag: ACON

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ACON Awards Night at the Ivy


Laura Hart was the recipient of the Arts & Entertainment Award, presented by SGLMG Association, with my cover for the Sydney Star Observer.

More than 300 people came together at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney on 17 August to celebrate LGBTQ community members whose work has made a difference to the lives of sexually and gender diverse people in NSW.

The Sydney Star Observer printed my portrait of Laura Hart, winner of the Arts & Entertainment Award, on the cover of the September issue of the magazine. Laura was acknowledged for her contribution to nurturing and developing “drag king” culture in NSW.  After the ACON award presentations, I photographed Laura and several other winners in a make-shift studio I set up in the foyer area of the Ivy.

Jason Om recipient of the Media Award, presented by OUT@NBCUniversal

Me… testing the lighting at the Ivy before the shoot. It is really cool that I can now trigger the camera from my phone.
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Memorial Sculpture at Tamarama

Urban Arts Project (UAP) was commissioned by ACON and Waverley Council to create the Bondi Memorial to victims of LGBTQ hate crimes in Marks Park, Tamarama.

The Bondi Memorial public artwork honours the victims and survivors of homophobia and transphobic violence along the Sydney coastline. It acknowledges and heals the significant community trauma caused by these events, it raises greater community awareness of this issue and promotes the continuing need for relevant information to be brought to police attention.

Mark’s Park was selected as the location for the permanent memorial given its place in international history as the site of numerous attacks. Many gay men and transgender women were assaulted, and in some cases murdered, at Mark’s Park. 

 UAP’s design for a six-level stone terrace represents the six bands in the pride flag, and was seen as wholly embracing the memorial’s guiding principles of remembrance, diversity, inclusion, justice and acceptance.

Paula Masselos, Mayor of Waverley Council & Nicolas Parkhill, CEO of ACON

Voices from the gay community have said:

“It’s been too long in recognising these terrible events from our not-so-distant past,”

“Finally, we will have a permanent reminder by which we can pay respect to these men, their families, friends and the LGBTI community.”

Pictured below is Reg Domingo (ACON Communications) together with the rest of the team from ACON documenting the completion of the Bondi Memorial Project.