Party Hard

Every stitch a story, every party a protest.

Party Hard – After the Party (Opening Night)

Thursday 5 February | 6.00–8.30pm
Tasma Terrace

Tickets: $35

Celebrate the opening of Party Hard – After the Party with a one-night-only programme of music, performance and art that brings the exhibition’s themes to life.

Spanning Edwardian soirées, the first Mardi Gras gatherings and today’s queer club culture, the evening sets the tone for an exhibition that honours pleasure, protest and the stories stitched into what we wear. Expect live beats, immersive performance and first access to the exhibition within the reimagined spaces of Tasma Terrace.

What’s on:

• Gerard O’Connor: His photographic artworks channel the spirit of the party across time — moments where barriers fall away and collective energy takes over.
• Music curated by Gavin Campbell: Legendary music play lists drawing on a career synonymous with iconic Melbourne clubs including Razor and Tasty.
• The Party Hard Orchestra: A band assembled especially for the night, recreating the atmosphere of past parties held within Tasma Terrace.
• Do It Baby – live performance by Colin Sheppard: Live body painting from the St Kilda–based, hand-printed clothing label that celebrates individuality, intimacy and self-expression.

Party Hard – After the Party: A bold new exhibition where every stitch is a story, every party a protest.

Party Hard – After the Party, opening 5 February at Tasma Terrace, reveals what endures when the music fades. Tracing celebration across time—from Edwardian gatherings to the first Sydney Mardi Gras and today’s queer clubs—this bold new exhibition from the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) asks what survives, and why it matters.

Garments lead the story. Not as pristine fashion, but as material witnesses. Ripped lace, stained satin and loosened sequins mark bodies in motion, carrying energy, vulnerability and defiance. Why keep a torn dress? Why treasure a stained top? Because wear records memory. Because clothing holds intimacy, protest and identity.

Historic treasures sit alongside contemporary works by queer creatives Gerard O’Connor and Gwendolynne, forming a kaleidoscope of resilience and joy. Clothes and story contributions from Richard Nylon, The Huxleys, Gavin Brown, Kara Baker, Estelle, Karen Webster and David Hunt (Art Hunter, JOY FM) expand the chorus. Here, the after-party continues - in material, in memory, in community.

Set within the reimagined Tasma Terrace, the exhibition reflects the National Trust’s commitment to storytelling through objects and place, inviting audiences into conversations about identity, politics and preservation. It reminds us that joy can be political; that dressing up can be defiance; that every after-party tells a story worth sharing.

Party Hard – After the Party opens 5 February (Opening Night), through to 28 March. Open each Thursday, Friday & Saturday, 11.00am–5.00pm. Free entry to the exhibition (donations encouraged)