Hero programme

This programme was created for the 1993 Hero Festival held in Auckland, and its concept was by Witi Ihimaera. It includes the festival programme and articles on takatāpui, discrimination, the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt, rehabilitation of the word 'queer', and advertisements for the Sydney Mardi Gras and safer sex, etc.

Hero was one of New Zealand's most significant LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) community events of the 1990s and 2000s. Along with Wellington's Devotion Festival in the 1990s, the annual dance parties, parades, film festivals and associated activities celebrated and strengthened the pride and health of LGBTQI+ communities. The festivals drew huge crowds and were vibrant and safe places to publicly express identity and sexuality, and were welcoming to all.

The 1990s in general saw a blossoming of gay and lesbian pride. Hero and Devotion were some of the more public fruits of change in society following on from Homosexual Law Reform in 1986. Hero was particularly groundbreaking with its vibrant street parade which at times caused controversy for overt expressions of sexuality.

This 1993 magazine captures some of these contemporary expressions of identity and sexuality. The cover is balanced between two women and two men, matched by the font which emphasises 'He' in Hero and 'Her' in Hero.