The Negro Artist Film Experience

The Negro Artist Film Experience is coming to Ragtag Cinema for a special screening on June 20th. The immersive experience will include live spoken-word performances from Columbia native, Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey and other local featured poets, and a captivating screening of the award-winning documentary film, The Negro Artist. Audiences can engage in insightful discussion with Emmy winner & Director, Nik Heftman, and the film's subject, Caleb Rainey. This event is part of the City of Columbia's Juneteenth Celebrations.

Please note that FREE tickets for the public will be available at the Ragtag Box Office starting Saturday, June 20 at 12PM. 

No more than two free tickets will be given to one person.

A free ticket guarantees you a seat until 10 minutes before showtime and not after. If all tickets have been distributed and there are open seats at 10 till, we will start seating the theater from the waiting list (queue). Ticket holders will continue to be admitted at this time if seats are available. This policy allows us to start on time and give the audience a distraction-free experience.

Caleb Rainey (Poet and Film Protagonist):

Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey is an author, performer, and event producer. He hails from Columbia, Missouri, and holds a B.A. in English (Creative Writing) from the University of Iowa. His debut book, Look, Black Boy, became Amazon’s #1 new release in African American poetry, and was awarded first prize in the North Street Book Prize. His second book, Heart Notes was published in 2019 and was featured on Iowa Public Radio. Caleb was the reciepent of the 2024 Iowa Author Award for Poetry. He also co-founded the literary magazine Black Art; Real Stories, was published in Iowa's Best Emerging Poets - 2019, the Little Village Magazine, and wrote a monthly column for The Real Mainstream. He released two spoken word albums, a studio version of Look, Black Boy, and a performance album titled, Heart Notes Live! And for three years in a row he was named Best Poet/Spoken Word Performer in Cedar Rapids & Iowa City.

Nik Heftman (Filmmaker): 

Nik Heftman is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of The Seven Times, a video production company dedicated to uplifting Black voices and underrepresented communities. Born and raised in Southern California, Heftman began his career producing stories for CBS Mornings in New York and Los Angeles, contributing to the show’s Emmy win for Outstanding Live News Program. In 2022, Heftman launched The Seven Times, initially focused on spotlighting Black entrepreneurs across the U.S. documentaries, including in 2025 the widely praised ‘The Negro Artist.’ The Seven Times also produces corporate videos and a weekly docuseries highlighting artists and changemakers making tangible impacts in their communities.