Hundreds of people travelled from interstate and across Victoria to paint the first rainbow crossing in Melbourne’s west on Thursday.
Brightening up Sargood Street, outside Altona’s Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre, the paintwork was part of the GoWest festival celebrating the western suburbs’ gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) community.
Centre manager Jill Bilston said hundreds from as far as Sydney came to take a historic walk across the road and pose for photos.
The artwork will not be removed – there will be a natural end of the rainbow. “If it’s anything like the footprints we did three years ago that go to the beach … we thought they’d only last three weeks [and they’re still there],” Ms Bilston said.
Meanwhile, Hobsons Bay Libraries has launched a WESTANDPROUD GLBTIQ archive project as part of the festival. An initiative of RMIT students, Newport’s Bridget McLennan and Sophie Klein, the project is a series of short films sharing the lives of those from the GLBTIQ community.
