What do a sly, sexy, sharply political collection of poems and a graphic novel depicting flat-chested rabbits and elementary school blues have in common? The Felix Awards. This year, Extreme Kids & Crew celebrates Ilya Kaminsky for Deaf Republic and Cece Bell for El Deafo. The Felix Award Committee selected Kaminsky and Bell because their brilliant work is informed by their experience of deafness. Despite--or perhaps because of--their different takes on this experience, both artists illustrate how expansive and unbounded disability art can be.

While we understand that many people in the deaf community do not consider deafness a disability, we at Extreme Kids & Crew believe that disability, very broadly defined, is something we all share. The sooner we accept our own oddities, pains, flaws, gaps, and terrors, the sooner we can access the understanding, insight, community, creativity, humor, and forgiveness these very same things can bring. We celebrate art that brings this to light.

To introduce you to our 2020 Felix Award honorees, the novelist and Extreme Kids parent Emily Schultz has conducted interviews with both of them.  (I can’t recommend Deaf Republic highly enough. If you haven’t yet read it, now would be a good time. We’ll be discussing it at the Extreme Kids zoom book group in June.)

A special thanks to the Felix Awards Committee: Brenda Shaughnessy, Craig Teicher, Jerron Herman, Maysoon Zayid, Rebecca Alson-Milkman, Eliza Factor and Amy Herzog.

Read: Ilya Kaminsky’s Q&A

Read: Cece Bell’s Q&A

Posted
AuthorGuest User
CategoriesBlog

Just because our spaces are closed doesn't mean our work is over. In the coming weeks we'll be rolling out various offerings of our programs that you can access from the comfort of your home. Read on to find out what you can look forward to, and keep an eye on our website for regular updates and resources that may be useful to you.

Storytime

Join us every evening for an Extreme Kids & Crew bedtime story. We'll feature a rotating cast of characters, from the staff you know, to well-known and not so well-known people in our community. 

Geared for kids of all ages
Nightly, 7 p.m.

Watch now

After-School Arts & Play 

Our head teacher and the rest of our program staff are facilitating activities via Zoom that follow the Circle Time structure students are familiar with.

For our children enrolled in after-school at P.S. 15
Monday-Friday, 3:00-4:15 p.m. 

Learn more

Powerful Parents

A continuation of our in-person parent support group, facilitated via Zoom, to provide caregivers with resources available to them in these trying times.

For parents and caregivers raising children with disabilities
Weekly at 4pm, beginning on Wednesday, April 1st

Get started

Book Crew

Our founder Eliza Factor will be leading a monthly book club focused on engaging with works from writers within the Extreme Kids community.

Anyone is welcome!
Monthly, day and time TBD
Interested in joining? Email Eliza at 
elizafactor@extremekidsandcrew.org to learn more.

Coming soon...

The above programs are just a starting point for us, and we're working to translate the rest of our programming into the online world — and do things we've never done before. Here's a taste of what to expect:

  • Parent Seminars — guest speaker series presented via online an platform on important topics concerning Extreme Kids families including issues such as self-advocacy, rights, resources, and navigating the transition into adulthood. 

  • Interactive Music Corner — virtual music get-togethers geared towards different age groups. Our musicians will feature Extreme Kids favorites, such as Jasper Lewis, our Music as Therapy partner from Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

  • Interactive Play Time — an interactive play session incorporating the locations facilitators have available to them to inspire different forms of creative play.

  • Teens and Girls Crew — virtual get-togethers for members of Girls Crew and Teens Crew. Extreme Kids will host these now more frequently in order to provide a chance for these kids to see each other, take part in age-appropriate play, and socialize through an online platform.

And much more! Stay tuned for updates, and stay safe!

Learn more about our new virtual programs

Posted
AuthorAlex Bazeley