The Big Umbrella Festival returns to Lincoln Center this spring for a multi-week series of free and choose-what-you-pay performances, workshops, and outdoor installations designed with and for the neurodiverse community. From April 10-26, the festival invites audiences of all ages to experience the arts in welcoming, accessible ways with offerings across dance, music, theater, comedy, art installations, and more.
Launched in 2018, the Big Umbrella Festival was the first large-scale performing arts festival of its kind designed specifically with neurodivergent audiences at its center. From the beginning, the festival has championed innovative, sensory-based, and interactive arts experiences that meet audiences where they are.
The Big Umbrella Festival continues to grow in scale and scope each year, welcoming thousands of New Yorkers to Lincoln Center’s campus for a wide-ranging slate of performances and activities from artists around the world.
“The arts are central to our individual and collective wellbeing, no matter your background or lived experiences. Creating welcoming, accessible pathways to the arts for all is central to our mission,” said Shanta Thake, Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “We want every audience member to feel seen and welcome at Lincoln Center, and the Big Umbrella Festival expands opportunities for everyone to experience the arts in ways that work best for them.”
Highlights include a striking outdoor installation right at the heart of Lincoln Center. Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0, created by Mexico’s Esrawe + Cadena, transforms Josie Robertson Plaza with a series of three-dimensional red frames that form small, inviting houses. Passersby are encouraged to step in, relax, sway, and linger at their leisure throughout the entire festival run (April 10–26).
Moving indoors, the festival welcomes back the acclaimed Glasgow-based dance-theater company Barrowland Ballet with their enchanting piece The Unexpected Gift. This interactive, multi-sensory wonderland turns everyday objects into sources of magic, specially designed to captivate and comfort neurodivergent audiences (April 10–12 & 17–19).
The program also journeys to the icy expanses of history with Antarctica! Crew Wanted, presented by Ireland’s Rosán’s Sensory Adventures. Created by Phillida Eves and Amélie Bal, this immersive participatory theater work draws inspiration from Ernest Shackleton’s 1915 Antarctic expedition. Through movement, music, and sensory storytelling, it invites neurodivergent participants into a shared adventure centered on teamwork and friendship (April 17–26).
Adding to the rich dance offerings, AXIS Dance Company, one of the nation’s leading ensembles of disabled, non-disabled, D/deaf, and neurodiverse performers, takes the stage at Alice Tully Hall with Patterns. The evening features powerful works by choreographers Nadia Adame, Sonya Delwaide, Christopher Unpezverde Nunez, Kayla Hamilton, and Natasha Adorlee Westbrook (April 17–19).
For music lovers, the festival offers an intimate and relaxed chamber music experience. CMS Kids: Tuneful Teamwork brings the Viano Quartet to the stage, performing lively selections by Haydn, Grant Still, Beethoven, Borodin, Mendelssohn, and Bridge. The program beautifully illustrates how musicians lead, follow, and collaborate as a team, all in a welcoming environment (April 18–19).
Hands-on creativity takes center stage with the Box of Wonders Workshop, led by Lincoln Center Teaching Artists. Participants use multisensory objects and art-making tools to build magical spaces of warmth and comfort (April 18).
The festival also celebrates language and community with a lively evening of ASL Slam in the David Rubenstein Atrium. This community-powered event gives members of the ASL and Deaf/signing community a platform to share traditional, contemporary, and experimental sign language literature. The same day features ASL Baby Slam, a joyful morning program tailored for younger audiences (April 18).
Laughter rounds out the schedule with ReelAbilities Comedy Night, a one-night-only standup showcase in the Kaplan Penthouse. Presented in partnership with the 18th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival, the evening features an outstanding lineup of disabled comedians (to be announced in March) for a night full of humor and connection (April 24).
Throughout the festival, visual art stations led by Lincoln Center’s Education team and Teaching Artists provide additional opportunities for creative exploration, ensuring there’s always something engaging and accessible to discover.
To celebrate this year’s Big Umbrella Festival, a limited-edition benefit print and commemorative poster by Rayed Mohamed will be published by Lincoln Center Editions. Complimentary posters will be gifted to attendees while supplies last.
All events are Relaxed Performances, part of a campus-wide series providing a supportive social environment for individuals with autism, sensory and communication disorders, or learning disabilities. For more information about Relaxed Performances, visit LincolnCenter.org/Relaxed.
Tickets for Choose-What-You-Pay events are on sale now. Waitlists will be available for sold-out performances. Learn more atLincolnCenter.org/BigUmbrella.
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