| Abstract |
The Mother City Queer Projects (hereafter referred to as MCQP) is a Cape Town-based events management company founded by Andr ̌Vorster in 1994. It organises and manages various events and projects according to a "fabulosity formula", with the annual 'Queer Costume Party' being a key event hosted by the organisation every December since 1994. Each Party (also referred to as a Project) has a theme, on which the party decor and party-goers' costumes are based. The bulk of the material in this collection is from and about these parties over the ten year period 1994 to 2004 (although the parties continue to take place). It is important to note that this collection, although named the MCQP collection, was donated by MCQP's founder Andr ̌Vorster, and reflects his role in MCQP during its first 10 years. The bulk of the material covers MCQP's creative output through promotional material such as party flyers, pamphlets, posters and tickets/party packs, as well as draft designs and mock-ups for many of these items. The parties are well-documented through 5600+ photographs for 12 of the 13 costume parties, through the media articles and newspaper clippings, advertising and reporting on the events, as well as a collection of artefacts (costumes and dčor) and special media material (primarily video footage). In contrast to the annual costume parties, 'The Mad About the Man' party is not documented through the means of party photographs, but rather through a comprehensive administration file which documents the event from concept, through planning to the ticket sales. A costume party hosted by MCQP in celebration of Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday, the 'Mad About the Man' party was closed down by the police and the fire department who claimed that the building posed a fire hazard, while party revellers claimed the action as anti-gay. The raid is documented through correspondence between MCQP and the Cape Town City Council and widespread press coverage in Cape Town newspaper articles, and, of course, through the lack of party photographs. In the words of MCQP's Andr ̌Vorster and Andrew Putter: "We call ourselves the Mother City Queer Projects. We are interested in using our knowledge of art to celebrate difference. People who don't usually socialise together need more places where there is a safe space to let their hair down and be themselves. Our work is different to gay and lesbian work. We use the word queer to describe what we do. For us the word queer can include heterosexuals. It's about an open, tolerant attitude to sexuality and life. For us, being gay doesn't automatically mean you're queer. We hope to create a city (and country) where a person's sexuality is irrelevant." Extract from letter by Andr ̌Vorster and Andrew Putter to Radio Metro, circa April 1995 (B1.1.4.2). The collection comprises material relating to 13 MCQP queer costume parties held from 1994-2004, mostly annual parties held in Cape Town with the exception of a party held in honour of Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday and a party held in Pretoria. A few items in the collection relates to MCQP's organisational strategy, while there is substantial material documenting MCQP's involvement in events and projects other than queer costume parties, such as a children's party to celebrate Nelson Mandela 79th birthday, a Robben Island heritage day event, the launch of Robben Island Museum's corporate identity, as well as MCQP's involvement in the development of the 'Queer Cape Town' concept. |
