Genius Teatime with Rebecca Niederlander

What does giftedness and chronic illness have in common?

I first met Rebecca Niederlander at jury duty- I overheard her and a wheelchair user loudly (and very understandably) complaining that it was ridiculous and possibly illegal to not have proper wheelchair accessible parking near the courthouse. LA Courthouse, do better. I had an Opulent Mobility flyer on hand and mentioned that I do art and exhibits around disability, she and I talked about a terrific group show up by a mutual acquaintance Kristine Schomaker, and a strong friendship began. Her Genius Teatime talk “Chronically Gifted, Chronically Ill” sparked so many terrific conversations!

The transcripts are edited for clarity.

Rebecca, in her own words, is an artist, essayist, curator, activist, and accomplice. Her artwork has been shown internationally including the acclaimed Venice Biennale. A recipient of numerous grants including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Durfee Foundation, Niederlander’s TEDtalk was entitled “The Art of the Journey.” She developed community engagement projects for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Niederlander co-founded the art and family social engagement BROODWORK (which was featured in the New York Times). She has written about art for numerous publications including a chapter in the catalog of the exhibition “Color and Fire” at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, for which she was also a curatorial assistant.