D. Allen | Alys Ayumi Ogura

D. Allen

NET/WORK: wheelchair bound (remix)

When the artist, who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, finally received their first insurance-covered power wheelchair in early 2023, they encountered the same question from medical professionals and community members alike: are you wheelchair bound? As a poet, an ambulatory wheelchair user whose abilities fluctuate from day to day, and a kinky queer and trans person, D. began developing a joyful exploration into experiences of being restrained, confined, and beholden. But in April, an accident left D. unable to bring the original concept to fruition, and what emerged in its place is a sobering reflection on ableism, violence, grief, and adaptation. In a society that often renders us invisible, isolated, disposable, and/or hyper-vulnerable, this piece asks us to remember that our fates—disabled and abled—are inextricably bound together, and that none of us can abandon disabled and ill members of our community without also abandoning ourselves.

Alys Ayumi Ogura

Do not assume anything. Things may not be as they appear.

Collaborator: Akiko

Alys Ayumi Ogura welcomes a new collaborator to the “Yumi-verse”! Both Ogura and Akiko, a multimedia storyteller, are originally from Japan, but they took different paths to get to the Twin Cities. Each is a dancer, but they pursue different styles. And while they can both be put into the same category of “Asian, Japanese woman,” they are not the same—though many people would like to think they are. Ogura builds her one-woman show Never Underestimate a Short Asian Woman with an Accent into a duet, blending story, humor and surprise. This piece will illustrate the very complex and layered identities of two women who share very similar cultural backgrounds, yet are very different people who cannot be put into the same box.

ABOUT NEW WORKS 4 WEEKS

A cornerstone of the Twin Cities performance landscape, the long-running New Works 4 Weeks Festival lights up Red Eye’s new performance space in the Seward neighborhood each summer. This process-driven, cohort-based incubator of new works culminates in a showcase of the freshest experiments from Minnesota’s most risk-taking performing artists.

This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Minnesota State Arts Board.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

This program was supported by a grant from the Jerome Foundation.