NQAF 2026: Demse

Queer Cultural Center (QCC) is a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting and amplifying LGBTQ+ artists, with a particular commitment to centering queer and trans BIPOC artists whose work is too often overlooked by mainstream arts institutions. Through programs like QCC Fellows, QCC provides space, resources, and platform for artists to develop ambitious new work on their own terms. Demse Faro was part of CQC1, the Performance Art and Studio track of the QCC Fellows program, where artists spend months in development before presenting new work to the public. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Demse Faro is the mirrored alias of Julien Stainback, a Black bisexual guitarist and multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the tension between ego and collective liberation. Through music and performance, Demse reflects diasporic memory and the connective power of sound.