Big Umbrella Outdoors
Lincoln Center welcomed young audiences with autism and other developmental disabilities and their families to its outdoor performing arts center, Restart Stages, for a weekend of programming in September 2021.
Families experienced Big Umbrella Outdoors in a 2-hour ticketed window which began and ended with a live performance, allowing time to choose and explore several interactive installations in between. A few highlights of featured artists and works included: interactive puppet performance Squonk's Big Hands for Big Umbrella, sonic soundscape Swingset Drumkit, sensory sculpture OrchidsPlayscape, music and dance performances featuring artists with disabilities, plus a special event on Friday night welcoming teens and young adults and a thrilling at-home audio adventure called Sun Runners. View the digital program.
Big Umbrella Outdoors was an extension of our 2018 Big Umbrella Festival. Our commitment to audiences with disabilities continues, and as we consider our approach to creating spaces that are radically welcoming and socially inclusive, we were eager to experiment with multi-sensory work in an outdoor setting. Thank you for joining us!
Big Umbrella Outdoors was part of Restart Stages at Lincoln Center, a program of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation-Lincoln Center Agora Initiative with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), which activates outdoor space through artistic and community initiatives that speak to our current moment, and reimagines cultural engagement in public space for a new era.
Accessibility Features
Ticket holders received digital social narratives in advance of the event.
All events were located on accessible routes and included accessible entrances, restrooms, and seating.
Assistive listening devices with headsets and neck loops were available.
Chill out spaces with flexible seating, shade and quiet were available.
Noise-reducing headphones and fidgets were available at all event spaces.