We are a small team of practicing artists working for a more inclusive, accessible world through the arts.
Our Goal
is to authentically support the growth and stability of our artists, arts workers, and communities
Mission Statement:
Diamond Wave is a San Francisco based queer arts organization that produces diverse, queer-centered artistic and cultural events that bring together disparate segments of the LGBTQIA2S+ communities and our allies. We also offer community-based consulting that authentically supports the growth and stability of our artists, arts workers, and communities.
What we do
Arts Programming
We offer queer-centered programming that challenges assumptions and builds community through theatrical productions and accessible events.
Artist-Led Consulting
We provide a nuanced and comprehensive approach to individual artist and organizational development informed by decades of experience working with / for artists, nonprofits, philanthropic institutions, and the for-profit sector.
We are committed to prioritizing racial equity
Racial Equity Statement
Diamond Wave is a queer arts organization built upon ideals of liberation (“no one is free until we are all free” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together” (Murri artist and activist Lilla Watson)). We recognize that LGBTQIA+ people come from disparate and distinct cultural communities and that queer and trans Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) have been historically under-resourced and marginalized.
We actively champion anti-racism and incorporate racial equity learning into our internal structures and external communications. Diamond Wave is committed to ensuring that our organization consists of at least 50%+ QTBIPOC at all times, reflected in our advisory board, our staff and our artists.
Furthermore, when appropriate, we will convene community-centered advisory committees to inform programmatic decision-making and to ensure that broader QTBIPOC perspectives are embedded throughout our creative processes.
Who we are
Kevin Vin Seaman
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Kevin Vin Seaman (they/them) is a San Francisco-based artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores queer identity and drag culture.
They were an inaugural APAP Leadership Fellow, and received the 2017 Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Award and the 2019 Theatre Bay Area Legacy Award (for their role as community organizer of the 2018 Yes on Proposition E ballot measure).
At home in nightlife venues, theaters, and large-scale institutions, their work has been presented internationally at The Stud, CounterPulse, YBCA, Frameline, the Tank NYC, the Austin International Drag Festival, SATTELITE ART SHOW Miami, the National Queer Arts Festival, Stockholm’s Stolt Scenkonst, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Yale School of the Arts.
Additionally, Vin has led sessions focused on queer arts and community issues for APAP|NYC, Grantmakers in the Arts, Americans for the Arts and National Performance Network’s annual conference.
Kiana Young
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Kiana Young (ze/zir, he/him, & they/them) is an unapologetically disabled and chronically ill-ustrious, transgender and non-binary, Chinese-American consultant and youth educator. Ze has seven years of experience as an intersectional workshop facilitator, public speaking instructor, and competitive speech & debate coach for middle school and high schoolers; each year their students have been California State and National finalists. Kiana is passionate about helping youth and adults find their voices; he is a firm believer in the power of words, expression, and art to catalyze sociopolitical change.
Kiana is an anti-disciplinary artist who is commonly known by zir drag king persona, LOTUS BOY. King LOTUS BOY’s work explores gender fluidity, accessibility, healing from trauma, sustainability, and solidarity, through the mediums of poetry, video, lipsync, ancestral movement (qigong and tai chi), and original music. With every performance, he aims to help the audience learn—or unlearn—something about themselves and the world around them. LOTUS BOY’s work has been featured at The International Queer Women of Color Film Festival (2022), The Austin International Drag Festival (2020, 2022), The Fresh Meat Festival of Queer and Trans Performance (2022), Oaklash (2020, 2021, 2022), THEYFRIEND Nonbinary Performance Festival (2021), The Institute of Contemporary Art, The Chinese Historical Society of America Museum, The Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce International Street Festival, Potrero Stage, CounterPulse, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Santa Ana College. They are on the Board of Directors for Oaklash, the Bay Area’s drag festival (Accessibility and Equity & Accountability Committees), and the Steering Committee for the first ever Drag & Spirituality Summit (Accessibility Chair). Since 2021, LOTUS BOY has partnered with Queens of the Castro to create and facilitate workshops on drag, gender identity, and gender expression to high schools in San Francisco and Oakland.
In their spare time, Kiana is usually indulging in boba, vegan sweets, or exploring the Bay with their ESA pup of 12 years, Jasper.
Community Advisory Board
Alisson Gothz
Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and multidisciplinary artist
Baruch Porras Hernandez
Writer, performer, host, organizer, illustrator, stand up comedian and poet,
Jae Rouse Iñiguez
Interdisciplinary artist and Associate Director, UCSF Training & Health Equity Collaborative
Marcella Sanchez
Photographer and Founder, M Sanchez Studio
Midori
Artist & educator
Nick Ishimaru
Theatre maker
Roy Eikleberry
Individual artist, project manager, and Production Manager, Ray of Light Theatre
