ArtOut 2026 - Queer Tomorrows
Queer Tomorrows are being built right now; pick up a hammer and be more than a witness.
Please purchase tickets at the link below to secure entry:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artout-2026-queer-tomorrows-tickets-1992370800698
Location will be provided after ticket is confirmed!
The queer community has always been one of creativity. To pursue a queer life is to be brave enough to dream past conventional reality and imagine new ways of living. Despite legislative attacks on our community, we continue to pursue authentic relationships, build mutual support, and make meaning together.
The art in this showcase offers a glimpse into the Queer Tomorrows being imagined today. Join us for ArtOut 2026, one of the leading annual LGBTQ+ art shows in the U.S., and experience artwork that expands our ideas about what is possible tomorrow while offering new lenses on beauty, family, milestones, and interdependence.
Go beyond art on the wall with an evening of featured artwork across a range of mediums, curated performances throughout the night, opportunities to mingle with queer founders, and a community actively imagining what comes next. At ArtOut 2026, tomorrow isn't just discussed; it’s forged.
ArtOut
September 19, 6-9pmSF LGBT Center - San Francisco
Performers
6:30pm
Queer Taiko, formed in 2013, is a multicultural and intergenerational group of LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies committed to building trans and queer community, representation, and visibility through Japanese taiko drumming. Based in Oakland, the group was founded by Kristy “Aki” Oshiro (they/them), a queer, trans, non-binary, fourth-generation Japanese Okinawan-American professional taiko artist. Aki began their taiko journey at age 9 with Kona Daifukuji Taiko in Kona, Hawai’i, and has since grown to become the founder and Artistic Director of Tsubaki Ensemble and SOKO Taiko. They have performed and conducted taiko workshops across the U.S. and internationally, including in Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and Colombia. Through Japanese taiko drumming, Queer Taiko creates space for trans and queer community, representation, and visibility.
7:00pm
Jens & BrigJens Ibsen, composer and baritone, is a multidisciplinary artist whose vocal talents have led him to performances from Dubai to Shanghai as a principal soloist and the first African-born member of the world-renowned Vienna Boys Choir. His music seeks to liberate the definition of metal music from the confines of the metal band, composing for traditional classical ensembles while infusing Western classical, avant-garde, Arab, Turkish, and African diasporic music. Ibsen uses polystylism as a language through which to pursue questions of queerness, ancestry, and structural power. His music has been performed all over, from The Polish Hearth in London to the San Francisco Symphony. His latest work, Scene Symphony, is a string orchestra piece inspired by pop-punk. As an active opera composer, Ibsen’s HWAEL-RAD premiered at Beth Morrison Projects’ 2026 PROTOTYPE Festival as a site-specific performance fusing opera and metal in Times Square.
7:30pm
JanpiStar was born and raised in Puerto Rico before moving to Oakland, California, in 2018 to join AXIS Dance Company, the leading integrated dance company in the USA, where they continue to dance today. Janpi has been commissioned to choreograph and perform throughout the Bay Area by festivals and organizations including Queering Dance Festival and FreshMeat Productions. Over the last five years, JanpiStar has developed their art of being a drag queen in a wheelchair, performing drag shows at venues and events including the Museum of Modern Art San Francisco, the California Academy of Sciences, Oasis SF, and Oaklash Drag Festival.
Generously sponsored by Pilot: Bookkeeping and Goodwin Procter LLP.
Generously sponsored by:
Pilot is a financial back-office services company helping startups and small businesses manage their finances and grow with confidence. Based in San Francisco and Nashville, Pilot provides bookkeeping, tax, outsourced operations, and CFO services designed to give businesses the financial clarity and support they need to make better decisions. Pilot works with companies across industries, including startups, creative agencies, professional services, consumer goods, and retail.
Goodwin Procter LLP is a global law firm focused on helping some of the world’s most successful and innovative investors, entrepreneurs, and disruptors achieve great things. Founded in 1912, Goodwin brings together deep industry knowledge and legal expertise across technology, life sciences, private equity, real estate, healthcare, and financial services. With a commitment to building inclusive teams and meaningful opportunities, Goodwin prioritizes its clients, its people, and the communities in which it works.
Organizers
StartOut is the leading nonprofit that increases opportunity and success for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs through community, programs and access to capital and mentors. Learn more at startout.org
Accessibility and Community Care
No one turned away for lack of funds (NOTAFLAF). If the ticket price is not financially accessible, please email Julia at julia.gleason24@gmail.com for an access code.