The Curiosity Paradox.

Jonathan Paradox Lee and Grant Robert Miller, Access Artists

What We Do.

Access Artists. Theater Makers. Disability Equity and Accessibility Producing, Facilitation, and Consultation.

How We Do It.

At The Curiosity Paradox, we consider the seemingly benign aspects of gathering people together and reframe them as a fertile ground of solidarity, resistance, learning, and creativity.

Some Of Our Clients.

National Disability Theater, Fertile Ground Theater Festival, Prosper Portland, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Vancouver Art Gallery, The Experimental Theater of Vassar College, Calling Up Justice, The City of Portland, IDEO, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Portland Art Museum, Disability Art and Culture Project.

What Participants In Our Programs Say.

“I'm not one to jump in and speak in a group of strangers but it felt natural in this co-created space.”

“There was really love in this room in asking and answering questions.”

“[This program] really challenged my notion of access. I really had to rethink everything. Which, to me, was such an amazing endeavor.”

Some Of What We’ve Done.

Dis/Rep (June 2020 – Present)

Co-producers. Anti-ableist virtual learning space that models accessibility and teaches Disability art and justice-related topics. Virtual. Funded by The City of Portland, Collins Foundation, and Regional Arts and Culture Council. Dis/Rep Workshop.

CripCreate (February 2020 – Present)

Co-creator. A disability justice centered co-working space, built in collaboration with Disability Art and Culture Project. Virual. Funded by Regional Arts and Culture Council. CripCreate Program.

Justice Producer’s Collaborative (July 2020 – Present)

Co-creator. The Justice Producer’s Collaborative gives signal boosting and mutual aid for marginalized equity workers and artists whose work centers justice. Virtual. Self-organized. JPC at Calling Up Justice.

Question Access At Vancouver Art Gallery (2022-2023)

Contributing Artist, Co-Conspirator. Installation in Carmen Papalia’s “Provisional Structures.” Installation included text, audio, ASL Video, and Risograph-printed handout on Access Art. Hybrid. Funded by Canada Council For The Arts. Vancouver Art Gallery Page.

Gatherette Lollygag (2022)

Producer. Open Art Studio durational hybrid performance. Community performance opportunity and Access Art skill-development for participants. Hybid. Self-Produced.

Desire Path Project (2022 – Present)

Producer. Ongoing transmedia research project into Access Art. Virtual. Funded by City of Portland, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Emily Georges Gottfried Fund of OAJC, and individual donors. Desire Path Project.

Threshold Practice (2018-Present)

Co-creators, Educators. Threshold Practice is a training that centers collective care and counter-ableism. Produced on-site and hybrid. Past facilitations include HowlRound, PICA , Lewis & Clark College, and Portland Playhouse. Praxis Session Recording On HowelRound.

Unsettling Dramaturgy (2017 – 2022)

Collaborator, Curator. Colloquium of Crip and Indigenous dramaturgs from across Canada and the US who work in theatre, dance, and experimental performance. Virtual. Funded by Canada Council for the Arts. Unsettling Dramaturgy Homepage.

The Swoop (2016)

Director, Producer, Dancer. 360° Virtual Reality Live Dance Performance. Experiment with VR Camera, choreography, Audio Description for Virtual Reality. Self-produced for Tiny Theater PDX. Hybrid. Self-Funded. VR Video on YouTube.

Publications And Press.

Cotter, Lucy. Reclaiming Artistic Research. 2nd ed., Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2024. Dis/Rep Programs Referenced In Introduction. Book Homepage.

MacRae, Talleri. NDT Learns: The National Disability Theatre Handbook. 1st ed., 1 July 2023, The National Disability Theatre Handbook, Accessed 2024. Access Art and Dramagurgs. Book Text.

“Access Check-Ins for Facilitators: Reinvent the Wheel Every Time.” The Curiosity Paradox, The Curiosity Paradox, 12 May 2023. Article Text.

“Demanding Access: Women and Nonbinary Disabled People Making Theater On Their Own Terms.” Panel for WTFcon21 (2021). Panelist.

“Practicing Disability Justice, Honoring Wholeness Onstage,” by Lydia XZ Brown in American Theater Magazine (2021). Grant Miller interviewed on their practice and play Grant Us An Audience. Article Text.