The second in the TigerTalks series in 2023 on social entrepreneurship with a close-up look at accessibility in the arts.
This extraordinary panel of Princetonians committed to disability justice and enhancing accessibility in the arts will explore the advances to which our community has contributed.
Kay Gayner ’86, is the Artistic Director of National Dance Institute. She began teaching for National Dance Institute in 2000 and is responsible for the direction of NDI’s In-School Program, which currently serves approximately 6,500 children in New York City public schools. She has served as Co-Creator and Co-Founder of the NDI DREAM Project since 2014, an inclusive program that provides children with disabilities the opportunity to dance and perform alongside a group of age-matched peers.
Christopher “Unpezverde” Nunez is a Costa Rican/American visually impaired choreographer, educator, and accessibility consultant based in New York City. His performances have been presented at The Brooklyn Museum, The Kitchen, The Joyce Theater, Danspace Project, Movement Research at The Judson Church, The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Battery Dance Festival, Performance Mix Festival, and Dixon Place, among others. His work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Brooklyn Rail, and The Dance Enthusiast. He has held residencies at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Danspace Project, The Kitchen, Movement Research, Center for Performance Research, and New Dance Alliance. As a performer, his most recent collaborations include “Dressing Up for Civil Rights” by William Pope L, presented at The Museum of Modern Art.
In his course Introduction to Radical Access: Disability Justice in the Arts, Núñez invites all artists, from choreographers to theater makers, film makers, visual artists, writers and composers to immerse in a highly collaborative, improvisational, experimental and inclusive community to explore Disability Justice as a framework for creative, dramaturgical and curatorial practices.
Maysoon Zayid is a comedian, actress, writer, and disability advocate. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and a Princeton Fellow. Maysoon is the co-founder/co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. She was a full-time On Air Contributor to Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a columnist for The Daily Beast. She has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, ABC News, and Oprah Winfrey Networks. Maysoon had the most viewed TED Talk of 2014 and was thrilled to collaborate with Huda Beauty.
As a professional comedian, Maysoon has sold out top New York clubs and has toured extensively at home and abroad. She was a headliner on the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour and The Together Live Tour. Maysoon appeared alongside Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and has written for Glamour magazine. She limped in New York Fashion Week and is a recurring character on General Hospital. She is the author of the best-selling memoir Find Another Dream and is collaborating with Scholastic on her debut comic book Shiny Misfits.
Michael Zhang GS is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Art and Archaeology, Zhang is a co-founder of Museumverse, a startup using VR technologies to bring new dimensions of museum experiences and exhibitions. He is also an advocate and voice of disability justice.
Tickets
This event is free and open to the public. You’re encouraged to attend in person, particularly if you are in the NYC area, but a live stream option is also available.
Registration required through Eventbrite
Accessibility
Event will include open/live and closed captioning and ASL interpretation. Guests needing additional accommodations will be able to request them when reserving their spot, and we will do our best to provide them. Guests can also contact pecinfo@princeton.edu for more information.
A special thanks to Nassau Street Ventures for providing the venue at its Alumni Ventures Group NYC offices for this TigerTalks event.
