Opened: February 2023 ((Sydney World Pride, National Art School); February 2024 at Qtopia Sydney
Curator: Dr Liz Bradshaw (Head Curator, December 2022 – March 2024)

Ward 17 South is presented in partnership with St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, and reconstructs a room from Australia’s first dedicated HIV/AIDS treatment and care ward. The exhibition was first presented at the National Art School as part of Sydney WorldPride 2023 and was subsequently installed as a permanent, inaugural exhibition at Qtopia Sydney following the museum’s opening in 2024.

Ward 17 South is presented in partnership with St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, and reconstructs a room from Australia’s first dedicated HIV/AIDS treatment and care ward. The exhibition was first presented at the National Art School as part of Sydney WorldPride 2023 and was subsequently installed as a permanent, inaugural exhibition at Qtopia Sydney following the museum’s opening in 2024.

The exhibition covers the period from Australia’s first AIDS diagnosis in 1982 to the closure of Ward 17 South in 2007. It documents the development of clinical care, community response, and activism associated with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sydney during this period.

The exhibition comprises a reconstructed ward environment, including an original hospital bed and room setting, recorded interviews, archival photographs, and original objects from the St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney Collection.