About

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I'm a recovering circus performer turned experience designer who creates moments where people discover connection—to each other, to place, and to issues that often feel overwhelming.

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As co-founder of Tideland Institute, I design on-water experiences that prototype New York's future as a water-centric city. My work spans cultural institutions, brands, and public space, always asking: how do we create conditions for genuine discovery, delight, and change?

 

What I Make

I've designed playgrounds that teach cooperation, multi-sensory poetry archives, large-scale games and festivals that reveal hidden dimensions of place, floating jazz clubs that reimagine New York Harbor, and shippable date-night experiences. I've created weddings where guests shear sheep and spin yarn to collaboratively weave the chuppah, summer camps for adults that build volunteer pools for nonprofits, and community park dinners addressing loneliness.

Each project creates space for people to be both guided and free—structured enough to feel intentional, open enough for personal discovery.

 

How I Work

My approach draws from circus, restorative justice, and decades of teaching movement and design thinking. I move fluidly between big-picture vision and granular execution, solo creative work and collaborative leadership.

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I specialize in projects requiring cross-disciplinary thinking: where technology meets human behavior, education becomes play, and community needs become social infrastructure. I build experiences that work aesthetically, operationally, and emotionally.

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Who I Work With

I work with cultural institutions seeking meaningful community engagement, brands developing experiential campaigns, and individuals commissioning bespoke celebrations.

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Whether designing a festival, developing a brand experience, leading a workshop, or creating place-based interventions, I bring the same commitment: respond to a need with creativity, purpose, and playfulness.

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Based in NYC | Available for travel | dfunkadelica@gmail.com