AND THE 2022 HONOUR AWARD GOES TO…
Unsung LGBTQ heroes and community champions were among diverse mix of people and group recognised at the Honour Awards 2022.
Over 300 people came together at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney on 17 August to celebrate LGBTQ community members whose work have made a difference to the lives of sexuality and gender diverse people in NSW.
Performer and producer Laura Hart was the recipient of the Arts and Entertainment Award, in recognition of her work in nurturing drag king culture in NSW. She described the acknowledgement as “incredible”.
“It is all so exciting and unexpected, and a tribute to the entire community of drag kings who work so hard and are so talented,” Hart told The Star Observer.
Fittingly, Hart accepted her award as her drag king alter-ego, Big Rod, and used the platform to further elevate drag kings.
“Drag kings have a long history of being sidelined and having to battle for space. It’s time for us to come together and continue this momentum to create more opportunities for these performers, and really appreciate their work,” Hart said.
First held in 2007, the Honour Awards is an annual celebration of outstanding service and achievements in LGBTQ communities in NSW, and a gala fundraising event for ACON. This year marked the return of Honour, after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill congratulated all the award recipients and finalists on their achievements, community service and recognition.
“There are many people from all walks of life that do such incredible work that makes a difference to the lives of LGBTQ people and their families in NSW. Honour gives us an important opportunity to acknowledge their efforts and community service. We thank everyone who joined us in that endeavour and that participated in this year’s Honour Awards,” Parkhill said.
“We also thank all of our partners including Dowson Turco Lawyers, SBS, people2people, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Sydney Mardi Gras, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association, Positive Life NSW, OUT@NBCUniversal, Friends of Cayte and The Star Observer. We also thank all the people and organisations that donated items to our silent auction and raffle.
“Congratulations once again to all of this year’s finalists and award recipients. See you at Honour 2023.”
2022 HONOUR ROLL
ACON President’s Award
Presented by ACON
Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Health
Community Hero
Presented by Dowson Turco Lawyers
Ann-Marie Calilhanna
Community Organisation Award
Presented by SBS
BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation
Young Achiever Award
Presented by people2people
Izzy Calero-Rivarola
Health & Wellbeing Award
Presented by St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney
Brahm Marjadi
Steve Spencer
HIV Hero Award
Presented by Positive Life NSW
Julie Bates & Basil Donovan
Arts & Entertainment Award
Presented by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Laura Hart
Business Award
Presented by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association
Sock Drawer Heroes
Media Award
Presented by OUT@NBCUniversal
Jason Om
Cayte Latta Memorial Award for Visual Arts
Presented by Friends of Cayte
Samuel Luke
