With support from the California Arts Council, Queens of the Castro will be able to compensate the Director of Programming, our first ever part-time employee, with a living wage for the Bay Area. They will manage all current programming and develop new programs and partnerships with other organizations.
We have worked closely with LGBTQ+ youth and drag performers to organize and implement drag shows as school-wide assemblies, which showcase students’ drag fashion and dance moves, knowledge of queer history, and coming out stories in addition to empowering on-campus LGBTQ+ students to educate their peers and teachers about the vast spectrum of gender and sexuality. We have also established a scholarship fund, which has awarded almost $200,000 in scholarships, that gives LGBTQ+ youth in California the financial freedom to pursue a variety of post-secondary opportunities. Our newest program, Draglab, partners queer and trans youth in the Bay Area with adult drag performers in order to learn about the art and history of drag, and to catalyze intergenerational mentoring opportunities and activism through drag.

