FLOODESIGN

JESSICA LYNNE is a writer and art critic. She is co-founder and editor of ARTS.BLACK, a journal of art criticism from Black perspectives. SORAYA NADIA MCDONALD is the culture critic for "The Undefeated," ESPN's premier platform covering race, sports and culture. She writes about film, television, arts, fashion and literature. Previously, she was a pop culture writer for The Washington Post, where she focused on issues surrounding race, gender and sexuality. She will happily obsess about anything from themes of imperialism in "Black Panther," to why Noma Dumezweni should be the next Doctor Who, to the best episodes of "Bob's Burgers." She graduated from Howard University with a degree in journalism in 2006 and spent six years covering sports before turning her focus to culture writing. She grew up in North Carolina and currently lives in Brooklyn. KARINNE KEITHLEY SYERS is a teacher and artist who works across text, audio, song, movement, image and printed matter. Her work has been seen in New York at the Chocolate Factory Theater ("A Tunnel Year," 2016; "Another Tree Dance," 2013), Incubator Arts Project ("Montgomery Park, or Opulence," 2010, Bessie Award for outstanding production), the Ohio ("Do Not Do This Ever Again," 2008), Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church ("Tenderenda," 2005), and Surf Reality ("Four Fruits," 2000). An enthusiast-agitator of community-led projects, she is the founding editor of 53rd State Press, co-instigated the writing posses Joyce Cho and Machiqq, co-founded the dance palace Ur and co-hosted the Acousmatic Theater Hour on WFMU. She has collaborated as a performer, librettist, sound and video designer and choreographer with artists including Big Dance Theater, David Neumann, Young Jean Lee, Sibyl Kempson, Chris Yon, Sara Smith, Theater of a Two-Headed Calf, the Civilians and Talking Band. AUGUSTA READ THOMAS' music is nuanced, majestic, elegant, capricious and colorful — "it is boldly considered music that celebrates the sound of instruments and reaffirms the vitality of orchestral music" (Philadelphia Inquirer). A Grammy winner, her impressive works embody unbridled passion and fierce poetry. The New Yorker called her "a true virtuoso composer." The critic Edward Reichel wrote, "Thomas has secured for herself a permanent place in the pantheon of American composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. She is without question one of the best and most important composers that this country has today. Her music has substance, depth and a sense of purpose. She has a lot to say and knows how to say it — and in a way that is intelligent yet appealing and sophisticated." A 2015 New York Times article states her distinction of having her work performed more in 2013-14 than any other living ASCAP composer. Founder and director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition and the Grossman Ensemble, she is also a former American Music Center board chair. She serves on many boards and is a very generous citizen. ARTS + CULTURAL PROGRAMMING ACP's overarching premise is to sustain its role as a leader in the advocacy of contemporary artists in this country by producing and presenting their works at Montclair State University, and in doing so to ensure that work of exemplary artists is seen at venues worldwide. Integral to this mission is the need to encourage audiences to become more adventurous and open to new artistic experiences. Since its inception, the Peak Performances series has set out to challenge and rethink the way independent theaters operate and to create a bold new model for presenters in the Garden State. ACP is embedded in a public university campus setting and is committed to engaging more than 21,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Under the ACP umbrella, Peak Performances is a leading model nationally for innovative producing and presenting. 31 | PEAKPERFS.ORG

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