Paola Prestini’s (2025 Awardee) new opera Sensorium Ex, made in collaboration with poet Brenda Shaughnessy, choreographer and director Jerron Herman, director Jay Scheib, and music director Elizabeth Askren, synthesizes artificial intelligence, disability, and the arts in a groundbreaking and innovative artistic work. Blurring the lines between art and technology, the opera will feature a new set of AI tools developed in partnership with NYU’s Ability Lab that will expand the possibilities for voice and expression in people with disordered, impaired, or limited speech. With a cast of predominantly disabled performers, the project seeks to devise new artistic practices which center disability equity and access throughout all steps in the process.