Cheshire Vineyard arriving at HEARTY to host their second edition of SPECTRUM, themed Salon Kewpie. PHOTO: Courtney Rabbit
Cheshire Vineyard, or Cheshire V for short, is a Cape Town-based creative who has made a name for themselves as a force to be reckoned within the Mother City’s queer event space. With a passion for community and a talent for creating unforgettable experiences, Cheshire has become a key player in the local nightlife scene.
It’s always a ball
As a freelance creative and artist, Cheshire doesn’t have a typical nine-to-five. Instead, their days are filled with pre-production and ideation for upcoming projects, as well as teaching dance at The Hub Dance Studio in Woodstock and facilitating somatic development sessions.
“Once events or projects are completed, we immediately do recon and integration in order to be ready for the next project on the calendar,” they explain.
One of the most notable aspects of Cheshire’s work is their involvement in the House of Vineyard, a pioneering house in the Dutch ballroom scene. Cheshire unofficially joined the House in December 2019, but their public announcement was delayed due to the pandemic.
Middle last year, they were able to travel to Holland to walk their first international functions and be publicly announced by The International House of Vineyard’s overall House Mother, Amber Vineyard, and Father, Elly Vineyard.
A force to be reckoned with
Cheshire’s work extends beyond the ballroom scene, however. They are also heavily involved in several event organisations, including Edition Events with whom they host SPECTRUM. Their journey with Edition Events began when they co-founded SPECTRUM, which they describe as a platform for queer creativity and cultural production.
Cheshire’s company, The P A N T H E R A collective partnered with Edition Events to birth their platform. “The creative direction and cultural architecture are our contributions to the experience that is SPECTRUM,” they say.
Cheshire also recently collaborated with the Ilukuluku Collective, a collective of artists, designers and architects. “The Curious Playroom was our first-ever collaboration with the Ilukuluku Collective – making this the first ballroom function that we creative directed and hosted outside of SPECTRUM,” says Cheshire. The opportunity was made possible by Wentzel April, the Cape Town Pride Festival Director for 2023.
When asked about their favourite event, Cheshire is quick to point out that every function is unique and brings its own sense of community and communion.
“What we can say is, our favourite thing about all our events are the undeniably palpable sense of community and communion that is characteristic of every event we have put together,” they say.
They have also faced their fair share of obstacles as a creative and event organiser, particularly when it comes to the rapid growth of their platform without any funding for sustainable operations in the long term. Despite these challenges, Cheshire has managed to overcome them through the support of an incredible community of supporters and collaborators.
Big things ahead
Looking ahead to the future, Cheshire hopes to continue growing as an artist and creative entrepreneur, expanding their capacity to be of service to the community both locally and internationally.
Their next big project is the inaugural Salon Kewpie: The Legacy Ball, part of Salon Kewpie: The Legacy Project, which aims to revive the Kewpie Collection and its vital legacies.
“Over the next five years, we intend to grow first and foremost as an artist and creative entrepreneur and expand our capacity to be of service to our community locally and internationally, through our work and the visibility it affords us,” says Cheshire.
When asked about their view of the queer event space in Cape Town and South Africa as a whole, Cheshire notes that there aren’t enough truly safe spaces for queer people in the country. They believe that there is still a differentiation between the queer event space and the normative event space, but they are heartened by the growing number of queer and femme creatives in leadership positions.
Cheshire sees now as an exciting time to be alive, with a growing willingness to learn and grow as a nightlife culture and community.
