A new exhibition celebrating the extraordinary life of Māori drag queen and activist Carmen Tione Rupe opens this weekend at Wellington Museum.
Arohanui Carmen brings together costumes, jewellery, gowns, art and photography to honour one of Wellington’s most celebrated figures from the 1960s and 1970s.
Advisory group member Reremoana Ormsby says the exhibition captures the heart of who Carmen was and what she meant to Aotearoa.
“He wahine Māori, he kaitārai huarahi, he wahine manaaki tangata, mā tēnei whakaaturanga ka mārama ake tātou ki a Carmen ki te ao i noho ai ia me te wāhi nānā i whakawātea mō tētahi atu,” Ormsby says.
“Nā Carmen i whakawhānui te whakaaro o Aotearoa mō te hunga e whai wāhi ana ki tēnei whenua, nā tōna maia me tōna manaakitanga i whai wāhi ai ētahi atu ki te tū rangatira i runga i tō rātou ake tuakiri,” Ormsby adds.
An icon on Cuba Street, Wellington
Carmen Rupe was a trailblazing transgender woman, entertainer, sex worker, and celebrated LGBTIQ+ figure who built a public profile through her notorious Wellington nightspots.
Rainbow community advocate Louisa Wall said Carmen was fearless.
“When I look at her history, I mean, in the 60s, challenges to her ability to wear attire that suited how she felt about herself, and ... to then pave the way for everyone else to be able to be trans women, whakawāhine, to wear whatever they wanted.”
That same spirit drove her business ventures on Cuba Street and Vivian Street, including her famous International Coffee Lounge and nightclub The Balcony, as well as her advocacy for the decriminalisation of sex work and her support for those marginalised or in need.
She took centre stage in local politics during her 1977 campaign for Mayor of Wellington, complete with a cheeky catchphrase: “Get in behind!” While Michael Fowler won the mayoralty with 17,041 votes, Carmen finished fourth with 1,686.
Wall said that Carmen’s legacy remains significant.
“What she fought for, our visibility, our positioning as indigenous people, our authentic expression as whakawhānui, as takatāpui, all of that continues to be relevant today,” Wall says. “She was just fearless, and fearless in her projection of who she is and who she was as whakawāhine.”
“We must never take a back seat; we must never go back into the closet; in fact, we need to be more wonderful and fabulous,” Wall adds.
The exhibition is open to the public at the Wellington Museum through February 18, 2027.
