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 A ‘best of’ compilation, Venus Envy Expostfacto features classic footage of Chris Maver at his best: his frocks, his attitude and his gorgeous singing voice. It is also a piece of grand gay nostalgia; a trip down queer memory lane for happy Brisbanites, especially West Enders. The disc also features some wonderful collectables: an interview with Maver on Australian Story; his comic short film, Venus Envy; plus a host of funny extras. I spoke to Chris about his DVD and his views on the queer history of arts in Brisbane.
QP: What’s the DVD all about?
Maver: It’s really about inspiring other artists to go out and do the same thing. It’s queer arts advocacy with no funding. I [want to] encourage people to look at the issues that affect them and their community: HIV, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage suicide, whether we get a chance to platform these issues in real life or not. I did The Fruit Tingle Cabaret at the Judith Wright and it was uncanny that the same issues cropped up again and again with the next generation of artists. There’s just no funding to express these issues. It’s a brick wall we keep on hitting.
QP: Do your performances reflect the changes in the gay scene from the early ’90s to now?
Maver: Yes. I think in my performances we see the effects of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, then queer appropriation and then the rise of the gay market, the pink dollar and the inclusion of transgenders within the community.
QP: What do you think have been the changes, good and bad, in the local gay scene since the ’90s?
Maver: The good thing is that individuals are making the difference – staging queer issues outside of bars, not dictating that what’s in the bars is the culture.
QP: Yes, it’s a bit of ghettoisation when that happens, isn’t it?
Maver: Yes, and we’re moving beyond that – like with the Brisbane Powerhouse, with their support of queer arts like the film festival. [But] is tolerance enough? The Brisbane Pride Festival still has no funding.
QP: Do you think that’s because Sydney’s such a Mecca for gay life?
Maver: No, it’s not that – I did Feast Festival in Adelaide last year, their academic conference, and it’s really looking at all the other cities that are all the same size as Brisbane – and Adelaide, Darwin, they all receive funding for their Pride festivals. We don’t. Adelaide has a major queer festival, profiling film, theatre, cabaret, visual arts, everything. It’s not just a month of parties, it’s a comprehensive festival that’s both professional and commercial. Let’s begin by supporting each other as artists. If there’s a wind of any funding to the queer arts community, public or private, let’s network that, and let’s share information and support each other. Let’s start a queer arts advocacy centre, instead of what happens in the mainstream arts industry, where it becomes competitive, not supportive. As queer artists, we don’t have to emulate what happens in that other world. And I think that’s where we have advocacy.
Simon Chan is a cabaret writer and performer. Venus Envy Expostfacto is available from Avid Reader, West End.
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