Kewpie Photographic Collection, ca. 1950s to 1980s.

The collection consists of over 700 of Kewpie's personal photographs (including duplicates), the vast majority of which have captions that were provided by Kewpie during the accessioning process, and accompanying negatives. Most of the photographs in the collection were taken by Kewpie and friends, and show Kewpie’s extensive social life and social circle, both within District Six and further afield. The collection shows the carefully crafted public personas of the queens, and also their private ‘off-duty’ lives. There are pictures from excursions to Fourth beach and Trafalgar Park, photographs of Kewpie at work in the salon, photographs of the elaborate fancy dress balls held at the Ambassador’s Club, portraits of Kewpie’s friends and neighbours, images from parties, snapshots taken of everyday life in the local area, and photoshoots of Kewpie’s friends on the streets of District Six. The collection also includes studio portraits and images taken by street photographers. Some of the photographs are inscribed with captions and information.

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Item Information:

Identifier: xw42n8281
Collection: Discovery Resources
Institution: GALA Queer Archive
Contributor(s): Abbot, Kate
Marion, Anthony
Mardsen, Jenny
Publisher: Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA)
Date Created: 2017
Dates Covered: 1950 to 1980
Genre: Finding Aids
Subject(s): Kewpie
Places: Western Cape > City of Cape Town > Cape Town
Topic(s): Drag
Drag queens
Gender diversity
Photographs
Resource Type: Text
Language: English
Rights: Copyright undetermined
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