The First Time I Saw Me: Underground Rainbow Experiment Emerging Artist Showcase

The First Time I Saw Me: Stories of Black Trans Emergence is an offering of breath, memory, and becoming. Presented by URE as part of the SF International Arts Festival, this live showcase gathers Black Trans and Gender Nonconforming artists in an evening of music, movement, poetry, and visual storytelling. Each performance reflects the moment of recognition—when survival softens into self-knowing and art becomes a mirror. Held at Fingersnaps Media Arts, the night invites audiences to witness transformation, honor resilience, and celebrate the beauty of Black Trans creativity unfolding in real time.

The Underground Rainbow Experiment

The Underground Rainbow Experiment (URE) was founded on June 19, 2021, in Baltimore by Djérae Lucas, a Black trans-masculine artist and cultural organizer, as a creative space for QTBIPOC artists to learn, heal, and create beyond systems of extraction and surveillance. After years in arts administration, Djérae recognized a critical gap: organizing spaces often lacked creativity and joy, while arts institutions were disconnected from community care and movement-building. In 2022, after relocating to California and supporting their sibling, Kaj Rae, through barriers to housing access, the realities of anti-Black and anti-trans discrimination became even more apparent. These experiences reshaped URE into more than an arts organization—it became a living infrastructure of care, space, and opportunity. Today, URE operates as a solidarity-based ecosystem dedicated to building sustainable futures for Black Trans and Gender Nonconforming artists nationwide.