Programs
Application Open: Due 6/29
The First Time I Saw Me: Stories of Black Trans Emergence (TFTISM) is a multi-day theatrical production centering Black Trans self-love, emergence, and community care through poetry, movement, and visual storytelling.
The work combines monologues, poetry, and dance into a non-dialogue, movement-driven performance supported by lighting, sound, and design.
The showcase centers the journeys of self-love for Black Trans people, exploring how creating ourselves creates freedom for us and all of those we are connected to.
The Underground Rainbow Experiment (URE) is launching a global open call for Black Trans and Gender Non-Conforming poets and storytellers to join this creative cohort.
This is a collaborative, non-traditional process where selected artists will co-create original work through five mandatory virtual workshops (June–July). From August to September, the work will be developed into a live performance (Bay Area + livestream), with rehearsals filmed for writers to review, give feedback, and maintain ownership of their pieces throughout the process.
Participants receive a stipend, co-writing credit, and documentation for their portfolios.
Preference will be given to artists located in regions with restrictive or harmful anti-trans and/or anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Check your location here:
A separate open call for Bay Area collaborators (musicians, dancers, and technical artists) will be released in June.
Apply and learn more:
About Me.
The Blue Roots Residency
Named in honor of Hodari Blue, a beloved being, creatrix, organizer, and community builder who intentionally and consistently supported the journeys of their Trans and Queer kin, the Blue Roots Residency (BRR) is a two-month guaranteed-income and wayfinding program for Black Trans and Gender Nonconforming creators.
Rooted in URE's Bay Area and Los Angeles Chapters, the BRR prioritizes BTGNC kin impacted by anti-Trans legislation and unsafe living situations. Participants receive housing, stipends, transportation support, and space to rest, heal, and create, with support for permanent relocation if desired.
The program consists of an eight-week journey in which BTGNC siblings ("Passengers") are matched with a "Station"; an individual willing to offer a room in their home free of charge while participants engage in community building, wayfinding, and grounding.
Passengers participate in weekly virtual and in-person heart circles led by circle keepers trained by, and/or held by, those of Indigenous descent. Together, we focus on acknowledging, feeling, and releasing definitions imposed upon us by the world at large, and transmuting that energy to define and create ourselves.
We also seek to provide eight weeks of mental health support from healers trained in anticarceral care, as well as connections to community third spaces rooted in Los Angeles and the Bay Area through both group outings and individual exploration.
Each passenger will be paired with a Support Sib, a BTGNC community member willing to listen and offer insight from their own lived experiences.
The fellowship cycle culminates in a witnessing ceremony where passengers celebrate alongside the broader communities we have built.
The Ask
To sustain a residency cycle for eight participants, we need to raise $17,600, providing each passenger with a $2,000 stipend and supporting program administration.
Our long-term goal is to build a donor base of 320 monthly supporters giving $25 per month to sustain the residency.
We are also seeking:
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Stations: Folks with spare rooms based in the Bay or Los Angeles
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Healers and mental health professionals
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Third spaces, arts spaces, organizing spaces, and community programs
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Resource hubs and direct service organizations
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Health providers, both holistic and traditional
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Support Sibs: BTGNC kin willing to connect with passengers weekly
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Advisory board and community safety committee members
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Cybersecurity and community safety specialists
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Travel sponsors willing to support participant transportation