Redfern Queer Bar ‘The Bearded Tit’ To Close In November
Inner city queer sanctuary, The Bearded Tit, has announced its doors will be closing in November.
Owner, Joy Ng, made the announcement on Instagram on Monday morning, writing that the decision had come from a “deeply personal place.”
“I am at a stage in my life where I want to expand my horizons and explore a career outside of hospitality,” she wrote.
“It was been the privilege of a lifetime to be part of this community, to witness the joy, creativity, and resilience that has filled this place night after night.
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“The Bearded Tit has been so much more than a bar. It has been a sanctuary for queer, POC, and other historically underrepresented communities.
“Through our arts, performance, and cultural programs, we’ve had the honour of showcasing Sydney’s most exciting emerging creatives as well as artists from beyond our shores. Every performance, every gathering, every moment of connection has been held by this community’s unwavering support.
Based in Redfern, The Bearded Tit opened to the public in 2014, and has become a staple of the Sydney queer and creative scenes in the years following. It has hosted hundreds of artists and performers in its time, with events such as Queerbourhood, Sound Sorcery Jam, and Sad Dyke Sundays featuring on its schedule regularly.
“I bought the building to open the bar back in 2012, and I lived there,” Ng told Star Observer. “It is for me, been such an incredibly wild ride, but also so fulfilling, like it’s brought me so much love and joy, and I just feel really lucky that the public has received it the way it was intended.
Ng said that while she appreciated the love held for the Tit by the community, she had decided not to try and “save” the venue by allowing anyone to buy the bar.
“It’s so much a reflection of my relationships. I’ve spent so long building up this name, I really want to be able to preserve what it means 100%,” she said.
“I wouldn’t want peoples’ memory of the Tit to be anything that is done by someone else that isn’t aligned with our values.”
The last six months in the sanctuary of The Tit
Following its closure, The Bearded Tit will host a market day, giving patrons a chance to buy furniture, decor, or pieces of the many artworks that adorn its walls.
While the news has been met with sadness, the outpouring of love in Tit’s Instagram comments speak volumes to the importance of the venue for so many.
“Thank you body. Truly,” wrote performance artist, Betty Grumble. “This has been sanctuary and will live on in all of our bodies as a way to keep being in this world. I love you.
“Joy, you’re a pillar. You’ve created the safest of spaces that’s also the coolest of places,” said Noongar journalist Narelda Jacobs. “In June 2021, you shut the doors to the public so brilliant First Nations designers, actors, journos, models, presenters, musicians, lawyers and academics could be themselves. The bond forged that night has only strengthened. Thank you for everything you do for community.”
Although Ng is sad to be giving up the space, she hopes the success of The Bearded Tit will encourage others to try and establish a similar place themselves.
“So even though it is sad, it’s a closing of a chapter, I also think it’s really, really exciting for Sydney, you know. And I’m hoping that multiple community spaces, queer spaces, will be able to open up as well, that this inspires people to do that.”
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