Collage

This collaged panel once hung in Wellington’s Evergreen Coffee Lounge in Vivian Street. 

It is part of a collection of panels and other items that relate to the life of Chrissy Witoko, the  Evergreen Coffee Lounge, and the communities of people who congregated in the cafés and night clubs around Cuba and Vivian streets between about 1970 – 2002.

Each panel includes a combination of photographs featuring people that Chrissy associated with, news or magazine clippings, business cards and other ephemera. This collage references not only entertainment and hospitality businesses with a queer connection (such as The Sanctuary, Bojangles and Casper's), but also theatre performances associated with the LGBTI community or content.

This collage features images of the famous American drag queen RuPaul, New Zealand's comedy duo the Topp Twins, and Paul Jenden's 1993 stage show "Fairy Stories" (Bats Theatre, Wellington). It also includes images of Hori Ahipene (played Mrs Semesi in the 1990s television series "The Semisis", and sketch show "Skitz") and Malcolm Vaughan at Escape nightclub at the "Glammies" awards night.

Other people featured in this panel are:
Renee, Hannah Tatere Knight (Greg Olsen), Jason Olsen, Chrissy Witoko, Geoff Fortune (Jessica Tate), John Butler, Stella and Malcolm Vaughan at Casper's cafe and bar.

Te Papa is working in collaboration with LGBTI communities and individuals to discover the histories represented in the panels. If you have any information you would like to share in relation to this panel please contact a history curator at Te Papa on +64 (0)4 381 7000 or email Evergreen@tepapa.govt.nz