Nico Lawson  (they/them) is a queer, disabled choreographer, educator, and performance artist who investigates the intersections trauma-informed, anti-racist praxis and the performance of grief as resistance. Their work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and includes interactive exhibitions, stage and site-specific performances, and dance film. Their current project Grieving Landscapes is an iterative exploration of the traumas of marginalized identity – including queerphobia, racism, and ableism – and liberation through the grieving process. Works in this project include the solo performances Wisteria (2023) and Wisterian Liturgy (2024) and the eponymous Grieving Landscapes interactive exhibitions hosted by Urban Arts Space in May 2023 and January 2024. 

As a performer, Nico has worked with Charles O. Anderson, Kate Davis and the Continuum Collective, Carol Finley Dance Group, Renay Aumiller Dances, JOYEMOVEMENT Company, and SHRED Collective. As the artistic director of Nicole Lawson Dance Projects (2018 to 2021), their work has been presented throughout North Carolina, including the Greensboro Fringe Festival, the ADF Healing Parade, Tobacco Road Dance Productions, and independent productions in both Greensboro and Durham, NC. Since relocating to Columbus, OH in 2021, they have shown work through the City Dance Showcase, the Ohio State University and the Urban Arts Space Hybrid Arts Lab. 

Currently based in Columbus, Ohio, Nico is originally from North Carolina, where they received their BA in Dance Studies and Spanish from Meredith College in 2016. They graduated from The Ohio State University with their MFA in Dance in 2024.