Theme: (in)VISIBLE

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CONVERTED TO A STREAMING EVENT ON JUNE 2, 2020

Make the unseen seen. The unheard heard. The invisible — visible.

Prepare to be challenged and inspired to see beyond your own perspective. To hear beyond the noise. And to move beyond a world in turmoil by embracing what really matters. Our common humanity.

It’s time to stop ignoring and start restoring. We invite you to join us as we come together to tell a new story. A story where everyone is seen.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
1601 Broadway Blvd.
Muriel Kauffman Theater
Kansas City, Missouri, 64108
United States

Amy Winger

Chief Strategy Officer

Chief Strategy Officer by day, Amy Winger writes poems for herself and grows tomatoes for everyone. She had the honor of taking care of her father as he progressed through dementia.

Barmak Heshmat

CEO, Optical Physicist, 3D Pioneer

Dr. Barmak Heshmat is an optical physicist, entrepreneur and former MIT Media Lab Scientist. He explores the links between science fiction, art and invention, and his research dives into technology that changes the way we look at the world.

Barnaby Bright

Singers, Songwriters, Musicians

Partners in life and in music: Becky and Nathan Bliss are Barnaby Bright.

Calvin Arsenia

Singer, Songwriter, Harpist

Voted Kansas City’s Best Musician 2018 and 2019 (PitchKC).

Erika Nelson

Curator, Independent Artist, professional Wanderer

Curator of The World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things, Erika Nelson is an independent artist and professional wanderer. She explores the nooks and crannies of the U.S., seeking out the odd and unusual and gathering stories of people who build outsider art environments.

Jessica Paige

Singer, Songwriter, Storyteller

One of Kansas City's favorite music ambassadors.

Josh Henges

Homelessness Eradication Superhero

Josh Henges is Director of Clinical Services at Kansas City’s Veterans Community Project, a community of tiny homes that allows veterans to gain stability, access counseling and integrate into the community. His mission is to solve the root causes of homelessness, requiring us to think differently about the issue.

Louis Schwartzberg

Director, Filmmaker, Advocate for the Natural World

Award-winning filmmaker and advocate for the natural world, Louie Schwartzberg tells stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people and places, by taking us into worlds that are invisible to the human eye. His greatest satisfaction comes from creating works that have a positive effect on the future of the planet.

Mary Cosimano

Clinical Researcher

Mary Cosimano, MSW, has been working with the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research since 2000 when they began research with psilocybin. In her role as Director of Guide/Facilitator Services she is responsible for training and supervising Session Facilitators. She has served as Session Facilitator and research coordinator involved with all the psilocybin studies and has conducted over 450 study sessions. In addition to her work with the psilocybin studies, she has worked with the Club Drug Studies including Salvia Divinorum and Dextromethorphan. She taught individual and group meditation to breast cancer patients in a Johns Hopkins research study, and taught at California Institute to Integral Studies (CIIS) for their Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research program. In 2003 she started and has maintained a meditation group for employees in her department. She also has 15 years of experience with direct patient care as a hospice volunteer.

Megan Doerr

Scientist, Researcher, Bio Consent Activist

Megan Doerr is a Principal Scientist at Sage Bionetworks, where she focuses on innovation in open science, forging strong, reciprocal partnerships between participants and researchers. A licensed genetic counselor who previously practiced at the Cleveland Clinic, she addresses the light and dark sides of modern biological consent.

Robert Prentner

Cognitive Sciences Researcher

Currently at the Department of Cognitive Sciences at UC Irvine, Dr. Robert Prentner conducts research in consciousness studies, molecular physics, natural and artificial intelligence, and philosophy. His current project is “Consciousness and the Emergence of Objects.”