Transgender ‘kuia’ to join gallery
The image of one of New Zealand’s most well-known transgender personalities will soon have her portrait added to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery collection.
A portrait of Carmen Rupe will be added to the collection on Wednesday as part of a new exhibition at the gallery, called Poutokomanawa: The Carmen Rupe Generation.
The show is aimed at honouring a generation of transgender women in New Zealand who had broken down barriers for today’s transgender community.
A poutokomanawa, which is also known as the ‘‘heart-post’’, is the central supporting pole of a whare.
Co-curator Chanel Hati said figures like Rupe acted as pou (pillars) for the transgender community using their visibility and positions in the community to pave the way for future generations.
‘‘Carmen’s charm and charisma were undeniable and she remains an iconic symbol of the Wellington transgender community. She was a well-loved public kuia ... who was driven to create a safe space for us all, locally and politically.’’
The exhibition will feature portraits and stories of other trailblazing transgender women Georgina Beyer, Dana de Milo and Chrissy Witoko, as well as work by transgender artists.
It will even include ‘‘Carmen’’ condom packaging produced by the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, and a police helmet given by Wellington police to Rupe on her 70th birthday.
‘‘It was a sort of reconciliation gift because Carmen and her friends had a strained relationship with the police in the 1960s and 70s who often arrested them for prostitution,’’ Hati said.
The centrepiece of the exhibition, however, was the portrait of Rupe, painted by her friend Nicolette Page, who gifted it to the gallery.
Gallery administrator Talei Langley said the gallery had a collection of about 200 portraits of all sorts of people, such as the Queen and politicians. Carmen’s image, however, would be the first out transgender person’s portrait in the gallery’s permanent collection.
‘‘We want to be able to tell the stories of all New Zealanders, including those that might be a little bit more marginalised.’’
Poutokomanawa: The Carmen Rupe Generation will open at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery on Customhouse Quay from Wednesday and run daily until December 15.