San Francisco announces inaugural Drag Laureate, the first position of its kind in the country

D'Arcy Drollinger, a veteran of San Francisco's vibrant drag scene, has been named the city's first-ever Drag Laureate and will become an ambassador for San Francisco's drag and LGBTQ+ community for an 18-month term, Mayor London Breed's office announced Thursday.

The position is the first of its kind in the country.

"While drag culture is under attack in other parts of the country, in San Francisco we embrace and elevate the amazing drag performers who through their art and advocacy have contributed to our City's history around civil rights and equality," Breed said in a news release.

Drollinger says she's "proud to live in a city that is pioneering this position while other parts of the US and the world might not be supportive of Drag. This role will build bridges and create partnerships, while elevating and celebrating the Art of Drag."

Drag, according to Drollinger, is a way for many people who "aren't allowed to sparkle in their real lives and as their true selves" to find refuge, she told CNN.

Breed officially announced the creation of the Drag Laureate program in her June 2022 city budget, but the concept was first introduced in August 2020 in a report from San Francisco's LGBTQ+ Cultural Heritage Task Force, a city-supported task force which reviewed community feedback on LGBTQ+ needs and concerns.

Among other strategies, the task force recommended improving partnerships between city agencies and community organizations to expand creative programs for LGBTQ+ artists, including the "creation and funding of LGBTQ+ artist residency opportunities."