Black and white rectangle shaped logo with a line art image of a door and serif text that reads, "OPEN DOORS"

OPEN DOORS NYC

OPEN DOORS NYC invests in the creativity and leadership of Black and brown wheelchair users.

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A group of twelve people gathered outside on a sunny day across the street from a mexican restaurant. In the foreground are five people in wheelchairs, from left to right: a hispanic man wearing black, a Black man wearing black, a Black man wearing red, a Black man wearing black, a white woman wearing black. In the background, from left to right, a white woman wearing black, a white woman wearing a red dress, a Black man wearing white, a white woman wearing black, a white woman wearing blue, a white man wearing grey, an Indonesian woman wearing green.
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Racial Justice
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Black Led
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Culture
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Disabilities
Led by the Reality Poets, OPEN DOORS NYC is a collective of disabled artists, nursing home residents, advocates, and allies. We make art, perform, and host workshops, conversations, and events around community-building and disability justice. We are a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, an independent 501c3 organization.
New York, NY
opendoorsnyc.org
A picture of an origami peace crane
OPEN DOORS NYC is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action (CTA)

Fundraisers

Feed fundraiser card link to FADE 2: The Musical
Black and white rectangle shaped logo with a line art image of a door and serif text that reads, "OPEN DOORS"
Official fundraiser

FADE 2: The Musical

In 2019, the Reality Poets debuted FADE, a raw, electrifying play set in a Harlem barbershop where the talk got real about masculinity, survival, and transformation. Originally made up of Black and brown men—most living with spinal cord injuries from gun violence—the group has since evolved to include women and artists with a range of disabilities. Three members have passed away since FADE’s premiere, including Jay Molina, co-director of the award-winning PBS documentary Fire Through Dry Grass. Jay loved FADE and dreamed of bringing it back bigger and better and documenting behind-the-scenes action.  FADE 2: The Musical is Jay’s dream realized—and a love letter to those we’ve lost. Set once again in the barbershop, FADE 2 turns the space into part support group, part comedy club, part afterlife. The chairs become confessionals, the mirrors portals between worlds. As the Poets gather to talk, realism cracks open and ghosts walk in through poetry, song, and projection. The story confronts the precariousness of being Black, poor, and disabled in America. Casting will center actors with disabilities, and sets and choreography will integrate wheelchairs, lifts, and other adaptive equipment as extensions of rhythm and design.
Raised
$10
Goal
$50,000
1 supporter
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Donors

  • Alexander Eshelman

    Brining back FADE was Jay's dream. Help us honor our late friend's final wish by donating to this campaign.

  • Abigail Disney