Being given the opportunity to manage a venue “right in the heart” of Brisbane’s CBD was a dream come true for David Murphy.
But despite only opening last November, he’s begun running artists’ markets and comedy shows during the week just to make enough revenue to stay afloat.
He said the post-lockdown economy had affected “every level” of running a business.
“It seems like every resource is quite short on every level of the industry at the moment,” he said.
“It’s patrons being affected [as well], which means we need to start working out more viable ways to get people in without extracting too much from them.”
The trend of venues combining multiple income streams to make ends meet is on the rise.
Thomas Parer, also known as DJ Sweaty Baby, says venues are struggling to keep up with rising costs. (Supplied: Seamus Platt)
Thomas Parer, who manages a queer party hosted in venues around Brisbane, said jumping through “hoops” of regulation and paying expensive licensing fees are the realities of operating.
“Usually you have to pay for a consultant, someone who used to work at the Office of Liquor and Gaming to help you navigate [the regulations],” Mr Parer said.
Independently-owned venues struggle the most to keep up with the costs of doing business, he adds, and it’s made it harder for those providing a safe place for minority communities to stay open.
“A queer venue can’t, in this economy, exclusively be a queer venue.”
‘It’s coming directly from our purpose’
Tucked behind the former site of The Zoo — the iconic live music space which closed its doors this year due to financial pressures — Hollee Hibberson and Dara Donnelly’s queer-owned venue is fostering a new generation of mostly women, mostly queer DJs.
The local community’s demand for an inclusive space has helped keep QUIVR open. (ABC News: Nik Coleman )
What began as a space for DJs to play for their friends during the COVID-19 pandemic expanded to become a DJ school, and last year Hibberson and Donnelly built a bar to start hosting parties.
“We just YouTube’d ‘how to make a bar’, stopped it at the right point like ‘ok, that’s what we need to do’,” Mx Donnelly said.
In July they launched their own radio station, filled with sets from local artists.
The local community’s demand for an inclusive space has helped keep their doors open.
QUIVR served as a “healing space” for patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic. (ABC News: Jay Bowman)
“Everyone who walks through that door, I see them breathe and their shoulders go down and I’m like ‘yes, you understand this place’,” Mx Donnelly said.
“It’s deeply, cellularly satisfying what we do because it’s coming directly from our purpose and what we want to see in the world.”
David and Logan said their personal connection to the queer community means they feel a need to “do it justice”.
David Murphy says the opportunity to manage a venue “right in the heart” of Brisbane is a dream. (ABC News: Jay Bowman)
“I wanted to make sure that it was centred around [Black, Indigenous, people of colour] and [queer people of colour],” said Mr Murphy, a queer man with Fijian heritage.
“Once it was centred around that, the whole power system changes. Suddenly, people are coming into our space and having to respect the space in certain ways.”
Being part of the community means Mr Murphy feels able to give opportunities to people like him.
“We protect each other by being together, that’s why I like trans people working here and queer people working here, we can protect each other and be stronger together,” he said.
That community spirit means people are willing to put in the hard work to keep the venture afloat, adds venue co-manager Logan Zdanowicz.
“The people that we work with, they’re putting more into it than they’re getting out,” Mx Zdanowicz said.
“The pure dedication and love of the staff, the external promoters, the owners… it’s the people wanting to really see this venue work and sacrificing stuff for that is what’s gotten us to where we are.”
Simplifying legislation
Having a venue that “just gets it” is important for Mr Parer when planning his parties.
“The world is more and more inclusive, but not all the time and it’s not all the way there. We still need these spaces where we can really be ourselves,” he said.
He believes Queensland should follow New South Wales’ lead in streamlining the licensing process and reducing restrictions to help support the state’s nightlife.
“If we want to see these spaces survive, we need to make it easier for people to operate them… whether that’s by giving them subsidies, rebates, some government support, whether it’s doing it by making sure there isn’t a cost-of-living crisis.
“But another way is if it was just easier for them to operate.”
In June, Queensland Premier Steven Miles and Minister for Small Business Lance McCallum announced a new nightlife economy commissioner who will “support, promote, and advocate for key aspects of the night life economy”.
The commissioner will work with key industry representatives in addressing the unique challenges faced by venue operators in Brisbane, Mr McCallum said.
While Mr Murphy’s not sure what the future holds for his venue, he knows he’ll fight to keep it open.
“It’s always holding on, it’s always protecting, it’s never like ‘we’re here, we’ve made it, we’ve got this forever’,” he said.
“It’s a constant push to keep those spaces here and so it’s super important for us to protect it.”