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.
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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
Vin Seaman
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Vin Seaman (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist, drag performer (LOL McFiercen) and the founder and director of Diamond Wave.
Since 2004, they have been an active player in the San Francisco Bay Area arts ecosystem as an artist, grantmaker, technical assistance provider, advocate and organizer. Their work exploring queer identity and drag culture has been presented at The Stud, Brava, Oasis, El Rio, CounterPulse, the de Young, Salesforce Tower, Frameline, the Tank NYC, the Austin International Drag Festival, SATELLITE ART SHOW Miami, the National Queer Arts Festival, Stockholm’s Stolt Scenkonst, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Yale School of the Arts.
They have been featured on Shondaland and Vice.com, were an inaugural Association for Performing Arts Professionals Leadership Fellow, and received the 2017 Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Award, the 2019 Theatre Bay Area Legacy Award, and a 2022 CALI Catalyst award.
Sarah T. Cargill
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Sarah Cargill (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural worker, podcaster, and spiritual care practitioner who uses the mediums of sound, performance, storytelling, and divination to facilitate experiments in community care and Deep Listening. Inspired by the visionary fiction of Octavia Butler and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she launched her podcast "Tarot for the End of Times" in 2020 where she explores tarot and occult studies through an intersectional liberation framework. Reaching Spotify’s top 5% most globally shared podcasts by 2022, this project seeded the foundation for Sarah's spiritual care work practice as the founder and owner of Snakeskin Tarot and remains as her longest durational experiment in community care to date.
Sarah has nearly a decade of experience designing and implementing dynamic and thought-provoking arts programming that promotes cross-disciplinary collaboration and uplifts historically marginalized voices. Sarah is a recipient of the San Francisco Arts Commission's Individual Artist Grant (2020) and has curated interdisciplinary programs for SFMOMA, SOMArts Cultural Center, and the National Queer Arts Festival. Her writing has been published on various platforms including SFMOMA’s former online publication Open Space, The Back Room with Small Press Traffic, and Montclair State University’s Peak Performances Journal.
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
