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October 07, 2021
Lincoln Center Activate Continues Exploration of Radical Welcoming with Free Conversations, Workshops, Original Films, and More
Lincoln Center News
Lincoln Center Activate Continues Exploration of
Radical Welcoming with Free Conversations,
Workshops, Original Films, and More
Leaders from Design, Technology, Education, Activism, and
Performing Arts Fields Featured October 2021 – January 2022
NEW YORK (October 7, 2021) — Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announces the Activate Fall 2021 / Winter 2022 season, an online series of events and explorations that continue a year-long investigation into Radical Welcoming—the intentional and extraordinary effort to make people feel welcome. All events are free; registration is available at LincolnCenter.org/Activate.
Lincoln Center Activate kicks off in October with a watch party for the new mini-documentary about OrchidsPlayscape designer Sean Ahlquist, who shares personal insights into his work on accessibility inspired by his daughter, Ara, who has autism spectrum disorder. Later that month, a conversation between designers Mimi Lien and Ahlquist explores how artists can establish a deeper sense of welcome when creating interactive spaces and reflect on the opportunities that arise.
November brings a focus on explorations of Radical Welcoming in classrooms, as educators from Manhattan’s Yorkville Community School reflect on lessons that they have learned as they strive for enhanced student engagement and consider their classrooms after a remote, pandemic year, and a conversation with FuturePerfect Creative Studio as they endeavor to make studios, theaters and Zoom rooms more engaging and welcoming in 2022 and beyond.
On December 8, scholar and educator Chris Emdin will join colleague Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz to discuss his new book and its implications for the classrooms of the future. In January 2022, Hope Boykin – educator, mentor, speaker, choreographer, and former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer – curates three events over the course of one weekend.
The Lincoln Center Activate initiative is designed to convene and support communities of educators, artists, teaching artists, and arts leaders in New York and beyond by offering intensive, creative, and free professional development and explorations to spark change across the arts industry and beyond.
All events are free and registration is available at LincolnCenter.org/Activate.
Images are available here.
Lincoln Center Activate Fall 2021 / Winter 2022 Programming:
Watch Party: OrchidsPlayscape by Sean Ahlquist
Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at 4:00pm ET
In Sway, a new mini-documentary on the making of Sean Ahlquist's OrchidsPlayscape at Lincoln Center, architecture professor and designer Sean Ahlquist shares personal insights into his work on accessibility. The father of a child with autism spectrum disorder, Ahlquist has a distinct perspective on access and inclusion. Years of research in architecture, computational media, and interactive systems come together in the film as it explores what it means to welcome all people, including neurodiverse individuals, into artistic spaces and to create interactive designs especially for them. In September, Sean brought OrchidsPlayscape, his interactive sculpture designed especially for individuals with autism, from the Venice Biennale to Lincoln Center’s Big Umbrella Outdoors, the short film documents its installation in the context of Sean’s larger journey in design. The viewing party will be followed by a post-video discussion.
In Conversation: Sean Ahlquist and Mimi Lien
Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 1:30pm ET
Join us for a conversation between two celebrated artists whose works explore fundamental questions about design and interaction. Noted architecture professor and designer Sean Ahlquist builds interactive works for neurodiverse audiences. In September, Sean brought OrchidsPlayscape, his interactive sculpture designed especially for individuals with autism, from the Venice Biennale to Lincoln Center’s Big Umbrella Outdoors, and on October 26, Activate will share a new film documenting its installation in the context of Sean’s larger journey in design. MacArthur fellow and Broadway set designer Mimi Lien creates installations, combining what she learns about spaces and places with what she knows of audiences and performers. Her installation The GREEN transformed the Josie Robertson Plaza during Restart Stages at Lincoln Center this past summer, offering attendees the chance to experience an iconic location in an entirely new way. Mimi and Sean invite you to reflect with them on the challenges that arise when creating engaging spaces and explore how interactivity can establish a deeper sense of welcome.
Watch Party: Rethinking a Classroom with Radical Welcoming
Monday, November 22, 2021 at 4:00pm ET
Elementary school educators from Manhattan’s Yorkville Community School come together in this new video that reflects on how to rework a classroom to create an inviting and welcoming atmosphere for students. Grade-school teacher Jennifer Dionisio and vice principal Stacie Lorraine share their experiences and reflections on challenges and successes, and the lessons that they have learned as they work to enhance student engagement. The viewing party will be followed by a post-video discussion.
In Conversation with FuturePerfect Creative Studio
Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 1:00pm ET
At the intersection of art and technology is FuturePerfect Creative Studio, which combines the talents of Wayne Ashley, former BAM Director of Arts in Multimedia and LMCC curator with those of software developer and musician Xander Seren. For more than a decade, the duo has worked with international artists and institutions to pioneer spaces that bridge the divide between the live and the digital. Last year, they wondered: What if the pandemic endured and people could never occupy the same space again? What kind of public life could exist? How could we reimagine live events? Join them as they share their explorations with artists such as William Kentridge and Team Rolfes and reflect on what we learned in 2020 that might make classrooms, studios, theaters and Zoom rooms more engaging and welcoming in 2022 and beyond.
In Conversation with Christopher Emdin and Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 4:00pm ET
New York Times best-selling author Dr. Christopher Emdin joins us again this winter to talk about his new book Ratchedemic: Reimagining Academic Success and what it illustrates about Radical Welcoming. Chris advocates for learning spaces that allow students to share academic successes without sacrificing their identities. Chris will explore this novel approach in conversation with his colleague, award-winning educator Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Associate Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and author of Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces.
Weekend with Hope Boykin and Friends
Weekend of January 21, 2022
Three events over the course of one weekend all curated by Hope Boykin, educator, mentor, speaker, choreographer, and former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer.
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About Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is the steward of the world’s leading performing arts center, an artistic and civic cornerstone for New York City comprised of eleven resident companies on a 16-acre campus. The nonprofit’s strategic priorities include: supporting the arts organizations that call Lincoln Center home to realize their missions and fostering opportunities for collaboration across campus; championing inclusion and increasing the accessibility and reach of Lincoln Center’s work; and reimagining and strengthening the performing arts for the 21st century and beyond, helping ensure their rightful place at the center of civic life.
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Programming for Lincoln Center Education is made possible by Sherman Fairchild Foundation, LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Constans Culver Foundation, The Alice L. Walton Foundation, Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc., Theodore H. Barth Foundation, The Giants Foundation, Lincoln Center's Education Committee, and Lincoln Center's generous donors and supporters.
Lincoln Center’s artistic excellence is made possible by the dedication and generosity of our board members.
Operation of Lincoln Center’s public plazas is supported in part with public funds provided by the City of New York
Public support is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Gonzalo Casals, Commissioner, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature
NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center
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Press Contact:
Michelle Tabnick / [email protected] / 646.765.4773