Announcing San Francisco's Inaugural Drag Laureate!
The City's first-ever Drag Laureate will serve as an ambassador for San Francisco's LGBTQ+, arts, nightlife, and entertainment communities.
Congratulations to the singular D'ARCY DROLLINGER for being named to this honor!
Meet Drag Laureate D'Arcy Drollinger
D'Arcy Drollinger is an actor, writer, director, choreographer, producer, entrepreneur, and a native San Franciscan. D’Arcy is the owner and artistic director of OASIS, which employs 200 individuals and was voted San Francisco's best nightclub/cabaret. D'Arcy is the executive director of San Francisco-based nonprofit, Oasis Arts, dedicated to providing access and resources to LGBTQIA+ artists. Other credits include The Producers (first Broadway production), and Hairspray the Musical (first Broadway production). D’Arcy is the creator of Sexitude™, the body-positive, age-positive, sex-positive dance experience based in San Francisco.
D'Arcy, whose drag career began in the early '90s, has written more than a dozen original works, including Bitch Slap, Temple of Poon, and Disastrous, as well as the web series Hot Trash. Drollinger’s first feature film, Shit & Champagne, became an instant cult classic. D’Arcy is the producer, director, and co-star of the long-running Bay Area holiday tradition, The Golden Girls Live.
Community service is also an important aspect of D'Arcy’s work. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oasis built a parklet and partnered with local restaurants for sidewalk dining drag shows. D'Arcy also created Meals On Heels, which employed out-of-work drag artists who delivered food, cocktails, and socially-distanced lip-synch performances to clients who needed a little “sparkle” during shelter in place.
Drag Laureate Event Requests
Interested in inviting San Francisco's Drag Laureate to join your community event? Please complete this request form.
The Drag Laureate serves as an ambassador for the City and will attend events throughout the year, as approved by and in coordination with the City.
Please note all event requests are subject to Drag Laureate availability and are not guaranteed.
Event requests are requested to be submitted a minimum of 30 days prior to the date of the event. All event requests will receive a notice with the status of the request within 14 days of submission.
Resources
Downloadable resources
About
The idea for a drag laureate program stemmed from San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ Cultural Heritage Strategy. Then-Supervisor Scott Wiener sponsored the ordinance to create the LGBTQ+ Cultural Heritage Task Force.
The task force identified the needs and concerns of the LGBTQ+ community, articulated critical goals to address these needs, and presented a set of recommended actions for the City and local organizations.
Among the suggestions was a call for innovative programing including “the creation and funding of LGBTQ+ artist residency opportunities or the development of City Drag Laureate positions to recognize the significant longstanding and ongoing contribution of drag artists to San Francisco’s culture.”
Since the issuing of the report in August 2020, the Human Rights Commission has re-established its LGBTQI+ Advisory Committee. This working body has spearheaded this effort alongside Mayor Breed.