Presenters & Speakers - NMU United

Stephen Kuusisto, who has been blind since birth, is an acclaimed poet who has written extensively about his experience of blindness, most recently in the bestselling Have Dog, Will Travel (Simon & Schuster, 2018). His other books include the poetry collections Close Escapes (2025), Letters to Borges (2013), and Only Bread, Only Light (2000), all published by Copper Canyon Press; and the memoirs Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening (W.W. Norton & Co., 2006) and Planet of the Blind (Dial Press, 1997), which was a New York Times Notable Book.

A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at the University of Iowa, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and The Ohio State University. He currently teaches at Syracuse University, where he holds a University Professorship in Disability Studies. He is a frequent speaker in the US and abroad.

Appearing in Person | Wednesday, March 25 from 4:30 - 5:30 pm - Reading and Q&A | Thursday, March 26 from 11:50 - 1:00 pm - Keynote & Lunch and from 4:00 - 5:00 pm - Workshop on Disability Aesthetics, Guide Dog Culture and Access-Centered Storytelling 

Tourmaline (born 1983 in Roxbury, Massachusetts) is an artist, filmmaker, writer, and activist whose work reimagines queer history and centers the lives of Black, queer, and trans communities. Her films and photographs honor key LGBTQIA+ figures, especially Marsha P. Johnson, the influential Black trans activist who helped spark the 1969 Stonewall Uprisings and co-founded STAR with Sylvia Rivera.

As part of the exhibition Andy Warhol & Keith Haring. Party of Life, Museum Brandhorst is presenting two of Tourmaline’s works: Pollinator (2022), shown in Germany for the first time, and Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2018), created with Sasha Wortzel. Pollinator blends scenes of the artist moving through Brooklyn with archival footage, personal memories, and images from Johnson’s 1992 memorial, portraying Johnson and other queer trailblazers as “pollinators” whose stories sustain community growth.

Tourmaline’s practice reshapes dominant cultural narratives, offering new ways to understand the past and imagine more liberatory futures. Her work has been featured in major exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and MoMA, and is held in significant public collections such as the Brooklyn Museum, LACMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Tate Modern.

Appearing Virtually | Date and Times TBD