Grantee Database

Chrysalis Studio/Queer Ancestors Project

Grant Year

2023-24

Grant Program

General Operating Support

Award Amount

$38,499.00

Project Description

With support from the California Arts Council, Chrysalis Studio/Queer Ancestors Project (QAP) will conduct 6 free QAP Workshops for transitional age youth: two18-week QAP PRINTS! Workshops; two 10-week Kaleidoscope literary workshops in collaboration with Still Here San Francisco; and two QAP RESISTS! series. We will present four exhibitions including two featuring artwork created by our QAP PRINTS! participants; two public readings showcasing the literary work of QAP Kaleidoscope workshop participants; and two artist panels carving space for LGBTQ2S+ intergenerational community building. These activities will serve some of the most historically excluded Bay Area LGBTQ2S+ residents: Queer and Trans transitional age Black, Indigenous, and youth of color (QTBIPOC), who have comprised 84% of our past participants. QAP will deepen LGBTQ2S+ young adults’ community connections by building bridges across internal demographic divides and fostering meaningful connections.

Organization Summary

Please use Version 3 from GENOP:
Chrysalis Studio’s core programs center the Queer Ancestors Project (QAP), a year-round set of free printmaking and literary workshops, exhibitions, public events, and artist development opportunities for LGBTQ2S+ emerging artists. Across all QAP programs, participants move through a shared arc: they study queer and trans ancestors, build artistic skills, create new work, share that work publicly, and become part of an intergenerational creative community that continues beyond the workshop.
Chrysalis offers four QAP programs. QAP PRINTS! is an annual 19-week printmaking workshop in visual storytelling and queer ancestry which culminates in an exhibition and artist panel at STRUT that drew 440+ attendees in 2026.
QAP Kaleidoscope, developed with Still Here San Francisco, is a literary workshop that deepens intergenerational connection through writing, mentorship, and public sharing. In 2025, a showcase at San Francisco Public Library’s Hormel Center featured young writers reflecting on ancestors such as Audre Lorde and Gloria Anzaldúa, welcoming 175+ attendees.
QAP RESISTS! supports emerging artists in creating political posters on issues including prison abolition, transgender rights, climate justice, and immigrant justice. In 2025, our Under Pressure community print party at SOMArts welcomed 225+ attendees, distributing posters and apparel carrying artist-designed messages into the world. Attendees chose art to be printed on their shirts, for free.
QAP Comix expands storytelling through comics and visual narrative. Together, these programs support artistic growth, public presentation, intergenerational learning, leadership development, and community building for emerging LGBTQ2S+ artists. One participant reflected, “This workshop helped me find community when I was struggling, provided me with a space to grow my art skills and connect with my ancestors. This is a space where I feel at peace.”

Organization

Chrysalis Studio/Queer Ancestors Project

Address

934 Brannan Street

San Francisco

94103

County

San Francisco

Region

Bay Area – San Francisco

Website

Email

Congressional District

California's 12th congressional district

State Assembly District

District 17

State Senate District

District 11

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