About OX
OX was founded in 2010 by Cornelius O.
OX queers the world by commissioning experimental performance that centers queer and trans voices across race and gender expression. OX’s core values—experimentation, collaboration, and a thriving queer arts community—guide us toward work that is artistically rigorous, community-engaged, and widely accessible. OX builds bridges between genres, artists, and professional networks within drag and choreographic contexts.
OX produces large-cast live theater events, participates in group shows, and co-curates evening-length performances using queer modalities such as drag, nightlife entertainment, and go-go performance as points of departure. OX presses against the edges of genre, complicates the “work” of creating, and questions assumptions about what performance is, can be, and produces.
With the aim of building artistic exchange between San Francisco and the world, OX has cultivated international professional and artistic connections to European performance scenes and stages since 2013.
Our Mission
OX is dedicated to enriching San Francisco’s queer arts landscape by commissioning interdisciplinary and experimental performance that amplifies queer and trans voices across race and gender expression. Our mission is to create and sustain an ecology of artists, genres, performances, education, and professional networks centered on drag and choreographic experimentation. We curate and produce distinctive theatrical events guided by our core values: rigorous artistry, community engagement, and accessibility for all. With over 15 years of involvement in San Francisco’s drag and contemporary dance scenes, alongside a decade of engagement with European contemporary dance, we bring both experimentation and experience to the local landscape.
History & Legacy
OX continues a 15-year legacy of creating platforms where systematically under-resourced and excluded artists are paid living wages to make ambitious work. Through multiple iterations of the WorkMORE! series, OX has listened and responded to the needs voiced by our drag family and wider queer communities. As we work to better reflect our audiences in our programming, we center QTBIPOC, gender-nonconforming, and trans artists. Today, a strong majority of OX’s artists, technicians, and administrators share these identities.
Since the pandemic shutdowns, new community needs have surfaced—especially among younger artists and artists with disabilities. Many emerging artists face a real lack of mentorship, opportunity, and production support. In response, OX has expanded programming focused on intergenerational skill-sharing, artist development, and early-career performance opportunities. The Show (2024) exemplified this approach, with a finale featuring a newly developed aerial work by Major Hammy, supported by additional production resources and mentorship from Joanna Haigood of Zaccho Dance Theatre. Forever will carry this work forward by continuing to create meaningful mentorship opportunities for emerging performers.