Salon Kewpie: The Legacy Project has developed an interdisciplinary platform that provides queer and disadvantaged youth access to a creative space that engages themes prevalent in the Kewpie Collection.

The programme connects contemporary ballroom culture with a rich historical photographic archive, which at its core lies the captivating narrative of Kewpie. Kewpie Fritz (1941 - 1012) was a celebrated hairdresser, performer, and iconic queer figure from the apartheid era, who has come to be known as the Daughter of District Six. Standing as a figure of defiance in the face of prevailing governmental oppression, Kewpie offers us a vital history of resilience, freedom, and belonging. 

As queer and trans youth from areas linked to forced removals from the city center under Apartheid, project participants might be understood as the true inheritors of Kewpie’s legacy. And yet, historically, they have been excluded by standard academic and heritage practice. Salon Kewpie: The Legacy Project works to address this by developing a curriculum that functions to support their personal and artistic development. As well as community leaders and elders, the workshop series is facilitated by industry experts in the arenas of academia, activism, mental health and safety, the history and fundamentals of ballroom, and professional drag artistry. 

Salon Kewpie: The Legacy Ball forms an integral aspect of the memory and public performance methodologies that underpin the platform’s ethos. The Ball acts as a graduation ceremony and a crucial culmination to the workshop series where participants walk in Kewpie’s onstage footsteps alongside local legends and stars. The evening brings the youth together with gay, queer, and trans elders; members of the District Six community of remembrance with iconic members of the Ballroom and Drag communities. 

We are bringing Kewpie’s legacy back to District Six!