Common Senses Festival 2025 Overview

One person sitting in a chair in costume. Four people, also in costume, surround them tossing scarves in the air around them. Everyone is smiling.
35
days of programming
An adult stands with a child who is drawing on a paddle. There is wall art in front of them.
52
events
28
partners
Audience members raise their hand, being engaged with a public speaker. They are in a conference room setting.
8,966
attendees
A Black woman standing on stage, speaking into a microphone. Beside her is a Black man in a powerchair. On the bottom left is a white woman with her hair pulled back. She is an ASL interpreter. Live captions can be seen behind them.
Colorful festival poster with repeating patterns of eyes, waves, flames, and geometric shapes on a dark purple background. Text in the center reads: Common Senses Festival, Every Voice Shakes The World, May 2025 | Omaha, NE
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Black silhouette of someone in front of a large disco ball. The background is rainbow colors.
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Past 2025 Events

Two women and one young boy in a wheelchair on a green live performance set.
Performing Arts
May 22, 2025
UNO’s SAPP Fieldhouse
Sensorium Ex
Sensorium Ex is an ambitious new opera by acclaimed composer Paola Prestini and Brenda Shaughnessy, co-directed by Jerron Herman.
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ASL Interpreting
Touch Tour of Stage
Superscript
Chill Zone
Audio Description
A Black man wearing a black zip up jacket. He is sitting in a powerchair, looking at the camera and smiling.
Performing Arts
May 13, 2025
Benson Theatre
Voices Untethered
Common Senses partnered with Nebraska Writers Collective to host poetry workshops led by local poets...
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Photo in greyscale. Accessible technology sits on a table.
Science & Technology
May 10, 2025
Kiewit Luminarium
Augmentative and Alternative Communication Retrospective
Exploration of the history and importance of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).
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A group of people standing in a museum hall.
Preferred Interest
May 10, 2025
NBO, Durham Museum, Scottish Rite, Burlington Capital, The Dock at Millwork Commons
Going Up: The Elevator Experience
In collaboration with Autism Action Partnership, elevator enthusiasts united and ascended the buildings of Downtown Omaha.
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Two children looking at wall art. Two in front of them sitting down. Two other people to their right dancing.
Performing Arts
May 16, 2025
The Rose Theater
Scribble
Scribble is an inclusive dance party and participatory visual art installation, designed with and for autistic audiences.
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A person in a wheelchair, wearing a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and a green cowboy hat. They are surrounded by four people holding scarves, presumably dancing with them around said person.
Performing Arts
May 12, 2025
UNO's Community Engagement Center
Risky Disco
Risky Disco is an electrifying sensory workshop for the full spectrum of human diversity.
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Poster for a film. A young man in a motorized wheelchair is smiling and raising one arm enthusiastically. Behind him, there are sketches of famous landmarks, including the Gateway Arch and the Empire State Building. The background has a retro, yellow-and-blue color palette with rays emanating outward. Text on the poster reads: THE RIDE AHEAD, A film by Samuel Habib & Dan Habib
Film
April 28, 2025
UNO's Community Engagement Center
My Disability Roadmap
Screening of Emmy Award-winning documentary short with Q&A and panel discussion.
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A young man with glasses, appearing naked and confined inside a large glass jar or cylindrical container. He has a concerned or anxious expression and is pressing his hands against the glass as if trying to get out. There is a bright light reflection on the glass. The background is dark, and to the right, Danish text reads "Ramt af Skæbnen og Linie 1A." A label on the jar reads:, CEREBRAL PARESE (SPEC 125-7), ALDER: 27 HØJDE: 164 cm VÆGT: 57 kg, ØJENFARVE: Brun NATIONALITET: DK/Korea.
Film
May 19, 2025
Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater
Natural Disorder
Natural Disorder is a documentary focused on the true story of journalist, comedian and disability advocate Jacob Nossell.
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ASL Interpreting
Closed Captioning
Front view of a Black woman performing. Her head is tiled back, mouth open, arm stretched out. We see a back view of someone in a wheelchair.
Film
May 15, 2025
Film Streams' Ruth Sokolof Theater
Making of Sensorium Ex
The festival screened Paul Lieber’s The Making of Sensorium Ex at Film Streams. A panel discussion with Paola Prestini, Brenda Shaughnessy, and the opera’s creative team followed.
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Closed Captioning
A group of people standing in a museum hall.
Common Conversations
May 21, 2025
Kiewit Luminarium
Building Accessibility in the Arts
What does it take to truly build an accessible show from the start? Hear from industry leaders on how they build inclusion...
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ASL Interpreting
Chill Zone
Closed Captioning
Three women and one man sitting together at a table, during a panel. The woman on the far left is speaking into a microphone.
Common Conversations
May 20, 2025
Kiewit Luminarium
Inclusivity Reimagined: Strength-Based Strategies & Disability Acceptance
Half-day of discourse dedicated to the importance of strength-based interventions + leaning into individuals’ preferred interests.
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Chill Zone
Closed Captioning
ASL Interpreting
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