To celebrate Pride Month, the Tairāwhiti Museum is partnering with Tairāwhiti Rainbow Collective to present Fab Drag, an exhibition of the fabulous costumes of The Divine Joanne Neilson.
Ms Neilson has been performing for over 40 years, with a career that has taken her around New Zealand and to Australia and the UK. Starting her career in PlayGirls revue in Auckland, then creating her group Les Belle Boys which toured New Zealand to rave reviews in the 80s, Joanne is an icon of the rainbow community.
Joanne was born in Gisborne in 1963 at Cook Hospital and she has spent the last 40 years supporting and advocating for rainbow communities. She spent decades on youth and rainbow support committees in Christchurch and still regularly speaks to various groups about trans communities.
The exhibition, Fab Drag, highlights the fantastic wardrobe of Joanne throughout her performing career.
Beyond performing, Joanne conceptualised and sewed many of the pieces in this collection. From hand-stitched crystals to feather boas, and yards of sequins, the exhibtion takes viewers on a walk through the history of drag performance with one of Aotearoa’s legendary performers.
