Frequency LA: A Creative Incubator for Queer Media and Events

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Long Beach County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Los Angeles leads in tech and media, but queer and trans BIPOC youth remain excluded. Despite their innovation, many face systemic bias, homelessness, and income inequality. These youth often lack financial support, mentorship, or access to training. According to The Trevor Project (2023), 67% of LGBTQIA+ youth feel unsafe or unwelcome in traditional career environments. This exclusion isn’t due to lack of talent, it’s a failure of access and inclusion. Without culturally-affirming pipelines into creative industries, too many young people are forced to abandon their passions for survival. Frequency LA addresses this by centering queer brilliance, healing, and skill-building—offering both economic opportunity and emotional support. We see creative equity as essential to economic justice.

Frequency LA is a 10-month creative incubator where LGBTQIA+ participants learn, create, and thrive. It includes:
• Frequency LA Studios: Weekly sessions offering foundational and beginner-friendly training in podcasting, digital design, storytelling, social media content creation, event production, and ethical AI—facilitated by queer and allied professionals.
• Creative Micro-Grants: Each participant receives a fellowship stipend and mini-grant to support a self directed creative project, such as a podcast, digital zine, visual campaign, live event, or video series.
• Mentorship Matching: Participants are paired with mentors across the creative and tech fields— including queer professionals and dedicated allies—who help refine their ideas, grow their networks, and build portfolios.
• Art &Soul Festival): A culminating showcase where participants share their completed projects with peers, partners, and community members. It’s not about competition, t’s about celebration, visibility, and connection.
• Wellness & Belonging: Monthly gatherings focused on navigating imposter syndrome, identity in professional spaces, and collective joy, ensuring that participants are supported not just technically, but emotionally.
• Pathways to Civic Engagement: Participants will be encouraged to explore activism through media and events. Select participants may gain internships with The L Project at events like the WFF, Dyke March, and other civic or cultural events in 2026.

Frequency LA will activate a new pipeline of queer creatives entering LA’s tech, design, and media sectors—bringing fresh talent, untold stories, and underrepresented leadership into high-impact spaces. Our Demo Day model celebrates success without competition, shifting narratives from scarcity to solidarity. If scaled, Frequency LA could transform how workforce development is done: not as rigid training, but as joyful incubation of future storytellers and cultural workers. Long-term, we envision this model embedded in schools, libraries, and youth hubs—replicable, open-source, and rooted in healing. A more inclusive LA is one where creative careers are accessible, not gatekept—especially for queer youth of color.