National Sawdust Presents ACTIVE HOPE: A Conversation with Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Presini

A theater and TV director. A poet and TED Global Fellow. An award-winning composer. Join the artistic leadership trio of Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini-from the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust-for an engaging public conversation exploring artistic intellect and national strategic leadership in the pursuit of inspiration for all. How can artists and arts workers shape the transformational and polarizing moments of today? How can we apply creative intelligence to cross borders and build a path for healing and the future?

This performance is part of National Sawdust's FERUS Festival 2021, which showcases cutting-edge audio, novel multimedia performances, and provocative creative discussion. The New Yorker calls FERUS Festival "a walk on the wild side of contemporary music." National Sawdust's co-founder Paola Prestini says, "as we heal from a historic year and dream up a vision for the future, National Sawdust seeks to reinvent sound and movement for the digital stage." The FERUS Festival is the organization's first step in the new year toward a diligent reexamination of the intersections of creativity and identity, exploring urgent issues such as disability, gender, artificial intelligence, and racial justice.

Additional performances at this year's festival include Ash Koosha and his anthropomorphized artificial intelligence YONA, created in collaboration with Isabella Winthrop, collaborating for a uniquely futuristic duet concert (January 7 at 6PM EST), as well as a re-imagining of Mozart's Requiem in D Minor by the innovative modern electronic composer Jlin presented through the prism of Kyle Abraham's A.I.M. contemporary dance company (January 9 at 6PM EST). All events will be available on the Live.NationalSawdust.org website and remain available throughout the month.