In this episode, we hear from Abigail Browde & Michael Silverstone, otherwise known as the theater company 600 HIGHWAYMEN, about their newest piece, A Thousand Ways, which A2SF and The University of Michigan Museum of Art are co-presenting. Abby and Michael make live art that, through a variety of radical approaches, illuminates the inherent poignancy of people coming together. They talk about their struggles of working during a pandemic, learning to embrace different perspectives, and diminishing the divide between people who otherwise might not talk with each other.

Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes is a professor of Spanish, American Culture, and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan who’s main research interests are queer/LGBT Hispanic Caribbean studies, U.S. Latinx American literary, cultural, and performance studies. In his first book, Queer Ricans: Cultures and Sexualities in the Diaspora, Larry analyzed portrayals of migration, sexual diversity, and gender nonconformity in Puerto Rican cultural productions. His most recent book, Translocas: The Politics of Puerto Rican Drag and Trans Performance was published in 2021. In this episode, Larry talks about his upbringing in Puerto Rico, his journey though higher education—both as a studen t and a professor—and his own drag persona, Lola Von Miramar, who lectures and educates about queer Puerto Rican and Latinx culture in the United States.

In this episode, Heena Patel, CEO of MELA Arts Connect, talks about her upbringing in Toronto, Canada, how she transitioned from being a sanitation engineer into a tabla player and performing arts entrepreneur, and where she is now as a cultural connector for arts organizations. Over the years and through MELA, she’s assumed the roles of producer, booking agent, manager, dancer, musician, teaching artist, and diversity and equity advocate. She serves as producer and artistic director for the immersive dance experience Garba360, which is part of the 2021 A2SF summer festival season.