For the next month or so, Vicinity Centres is rebranding Sydney’s iconic Queen Victoria Building in honour of the upcoming WorldPride festival. The retail centre will be renamed each week to reflect five powerful people in the Australian LGBTQI+ community: Ken Davis, who convened the Gay Solidarity Group in 1978 and helped kick off Australia’s first Mardi Gras; Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich and ally Janine Middleton AM, who co-chaired Australian Equality and fought for marriage equali
ality; Indigenous drag queen Felicia Foxx, who advocates for the empowerment of queer Indigenous people; and cabaret star and trans icon Carlotta.
Davis said he is very attached to the QVB, and the fact that it could be transformed into something ‘glamorous’ for WorldPride was something that Sydneysiders could be proud of.
The campaign, called QVB Enthroned, will see the signage at both front entrances be changed each week to reflect the five activists – becoming the Queen Alex Building – for example, and is part of a broader ‘takeover’ of Vicinity’s media channels during the WorldPride event – which kicks off on February 17th.
Additionally, on the internal ‘domes’ of the building, Vicinity will feature a hanging art installation which seeks to “pay homage to our real queens” during the pride season.
“Incredibly proud”
Vicinity Centres’ marketing manager David Henderson told Inside Retail he is incredibly proud of the campaign.
“We’ve made a lot of progress but there’s always more work to be done, and that’s why [activations like] QVB Enthroned are so important,” Henderson said.
“The ability to work together to rename the QVB after five icons – as well as the things we do each and every day within our own organisation so that every team member at Vicinity can bring their true selves to work – is amazing.
“It’s one of those life moments. I’m super proud of our team for pulling it all together, and some of the visual and campaign imagery are beautiful.”
Henderson serves as co-chair on Vicinity’s Pride and Allies Employee Advocacy Group alongside chief legal counsel Carolyn Reynolds, and has worked together with the business’ charity partner Acon Pride and Diversity to educate and raise awareness of the issues facing LGBTQI+ people.
“They’ve been a huge support,” Henderson said.
“They’ve run a bunch of seminars and networking events [for us], and internally they’ve hosted education sessions about general inclusion and the history of the LGBTQI+ community, right through to some of the modern and present day issues and pressures within the community – they’ve been invaluable to us.”
Beyond Pride
Henderson said Vicinity Centres is optimistic about the year ahead despite the macroeconomic headwinds hitting consumers.
“There is no doubt that the cost of living is increasing for many Australian households thanks to inflation, interest rates and higher energy prices. That said, anecdotal feedback from our retailers is that they’ve had a strong peak trading season,” Henderson said.
“I think the year will be what it is, but I think certainly after two years of Covid and lockdowns, people are willing to get back out there and seek physical connections, experiences, food, and things they can try on.
“Our Q1 results in October showed that visiting it still improving, and for CBDs in particular, the resumption of sporting and cultural events is bringing more people back [into physical retail].”