Kewpie was a much loved hairdresser and performer who was born in Cape Town's District Six. She lived there until the apartheid government's Group Area's Act forcibly removed and destroyed the District Six communities in the 1960's. Kewpie was part of a visible queer community who often hosted highly anticipated parties, performed at shows, and attended balls in elaborate drag. 

GALA holds Kewpie's personal photo collection in the archive. They depict her extensive social life and social circle, both within District Six and further afield. The photographs offer an insight into the carefully crafted public personas she and her community presented at parties and performances, as well as the intimate day-to-day of their lives.

There are pictures from excursions to Fourth Beach and Trafalgar Park, photographs of Kewpie at work in the salon, photographs of 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. Most of the photos in the collection were taken by Kewpie and her friends, but also includes studio portraits and images taken by street photographers. Many of the photographs in the collection have captions which Kewpie provided during the accessioning process in 1999.

Partnership with the District Six Museum:

All projects and programming related to Kewpie's photographic collection and story is undertaken in close collaboration with the District Six Museum, and the consultation with Kewpie's surviving family.

The District Six Museum Foundation was established in 1989 and launched as a Museum in 1994, to keep the memories of District Six alive and to draw attention to the situation of displaced people locally, nationally ,as well as globally. It has evolved into a vehicle for advocating for social justice, a space for reflection and contemplation, and for challenging the exclusions and distortions which were entrenched in the history of the city of Cape Town, as well as of the country. Different interpretations of that past are facilitated through its collections, exhibitions, and education programmes.

The Museum is committed to telling the stories of forced removals and assisting in the return of the former community to District Six, drawing on a heritage of non-discrimination, an affirmation of local knowledge, and the encouragement of debate. The closest natural constituency of the Museum is the displaced ex-resident community of the District who are dispersed across various areas of the Cape Flats, and they are at the core of the organisation’s work.