Pamela Peniston is a Founding Member and Artistic Director of the Queer Cultural Center. She was an initial member of Mayor Art Agnos’ Cultural Affairs Task Force of San Francisco in 1989, which helped to establish the guidelines for the Cultural Equity Grants Program at the SF Arts Commission.

Prior to Qcc, Pamela designed sets for National and Bay Area theatrical and dance companies. She was nominated for an OBIE award for her design of EDEN for the Negro Ensemble Company in New York and received Critic’s Circle Awards for her designs of POPPIES and COCONUT for Theatre Rhinoceros here in San Francisco.

On a side trip into television in Chicago and Atlanta, she received gold medals from the Broadcast Design Association for her Art Direction at The Weather Channel.

Since 1998, Pamela has provided visionary leadership for Queer Cultural Center’s iconic program, the National Queer Arts Festival, commissioned generations of LGBTQI artists & artists of color, and provided opportunities for them to discover their voices and connect with their communities. Pamela and Qcc have mentored and inspired queer artists who have become leaders and changed the cultural landscape of queer arts across the nation.