A gift for fellow Neurodivergent artists

A gift for fellow Neurodivergent artists

I drew up the following list as something I would have liked to have read decades ago.  It may grow and change but for now I hope this helps others.

• ‘No’ will be your greatest sculptural tool (this will leave room for when you can actually say 'yes'): Not every opportunity is an opportunity. Your time is finite, even more so for us, as a Neurodivergent and/or disabled creatives.  A lot of arts administration and expected form filling is ableist and disabling. This shouldn’t be ignored. Capacity is an individual consideration and more so without support and/or funding.   

• We socialise and network in different ways and that is fine. Conventional private views, residencies, networking events, discussion groups and talks aren’t always accessible to all. Attendance can have consequences in terms physiological/ psychological demands. If you are able to ask the organisation, institution or venue for alternatives then do. The more we ask the more things will change. The pandemic has shown changes can be made. Online options are more than viable.  Rules about what 'participating' looks like need to be broken. Could an audience come to you? 

• You aren’t imagining things the arts and arts education has an ableism issue. It can change and we can all be a part of that. Thankfully there are more and more organisations being created to tackle issues. We are still in ever changing waters, but there is hope.
• Your accessibility needs are not wants; they are needs. Consider them essential to a fully functioning healthy arts ecosystem because asking helps facilitate your contribution to the whole. Creating an accessibility rider for your needs is a very useful tool. More and more of us are using them. 
• You are allowed to laugh, not 'live the tragedy narrative' and enjoy (please, please do!) the process of art making.  Joy is a permisable emotion! Art making in itself can be a magical form of relief, replenishment and meaning.  Never underestimate the power of the Flow state in terms of creativity and/ or 'Hyperfocus', which is of particular relief from an overwhelming world, as a Neurodivergent creative.  (See the work of pioneer psychologist the late Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi the father of Flow to learn more) .  Personally, I found Flow being disregarded in certain lofty circles, but it has been one of the most profound useful tools, I use, alongside research, in my arts practice. Enjoying the art making process is not to disregard the frustarations which we experience but there are aspects of human experience which sit outside of grinding life curtailing constant reminders of 'the darkside' and 'toxic positivity', for example. Beauty exists within Flow processes and other states such as 'Awe'.  
• Work long. The 'frenzied working' myth doesn't work for everyone. Working long is particulary needed for those who need more transition time. I know I do.  
• Your boundaries are non-negiotiable - Time, space, sound, light, for example. Consider what vitalises you and what drains you. 
• Are you being equally nurtured when working with others or being fed from. Many are prepared to keep taking but not always give. Be very aware of this.  
• I don't agree that artists just get to work in the dark times. 'Darkness' is just one of many activators. Artists create at all times and art exists for so many reasons beyond. Artists actively contemplate, draw, scrap, rub, scribble, fiddle, paint, rip, drop, kick, lick, care, repair, paint, destroy, photograph, mend, cut and make new worlds continously for themselves and others.  Art is for all and is there to console, create spaces and thought and much more besides.

And I don’t think the ultimate goal of art and art making should be torture to gain truth and we need to expand out from narrow projected views and channels we have been treading. I truly believe that art is a form of release and we need more nuance to allow others to tap in to the Arts. 

I would be more than happy to hear from other Neurodivergent artists and add to this list. Please contact me via my contact form if you would like to contribute.

With love and care,

Pernille Fraser

Recommended arts organisation for Neurodivergent Artists: 

Flow Observatorium:  https://flowobsad.wixsite.com/flow-observatorium 

Dyspla: https://dyspla.com/ 

Mainspring Arts: http://www.mainspringarts.org.uk/ 

Boomlab: https://bom.org.uk/ 

Project Artworks. Based in Hastings: https://projectartworks.org/

Neuk Collective: https://neukcollective.co.uk/

Relevant research by Flow Observatorium, funded by Arts Council England outlining barriers faced by Neurodivergent Artists in the Arts (2020):   

https://disabilityarts.online/magazine/opinion/kongress-thinking-outside-the-box-on-barriers-for-neurodivergents-in-the-arts/?fbclid=IwAR2UWE2mX4j55zAx9_yO9-1S1I5186YZYBs4kMeLhiUzzHWwSeDPueyaC78 

Full report can be found here: https://55cb82d2-280f-4058-b905-01929c2af2cf.filesusr.com/ugd/1d1361_fcaa7a5f0f8544e6a6d2690caff99acc.pdf 

Tool kit: 

Access Toolkit for Artworkers. A very useful resource: https://www.accesstoolkit.art/ 

Further reference material: 

'The Disordered eye'. Disabled artist and film-maker Richard Butchins insightful investigation.  BBC4:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000p35k 

'“No you’re not” – a portrait of autistic women' https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/Yd8L-hAAAIAWFxqa
'When a woman discloses that she’s autistic, the reaction is often, “But you don’t look autistic,” or even a straight denial, “No you’re not.” This insightful and moving series of portraits and interviews by photographer Rosie Barnes allows the voices and experiences of autistic women to be heard'. 

' The story of art without men' Katy Hessel https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/book

'Another amazing year for female artists. So why are they stifled and improverished?'.  The Guardian, December , 2022.  'Currently, while 66% of art students on postgraduate courses are female or non-binary, 67% of the artists represented by commercial galleries are male.'  https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/dec/14/amazing-year-female-artists-venice-biennale-turner

'The Care Manifesto.' By The Care Collective https://www.versobooks.com/books/3706-care-manifesto 

Film 

The Art of Making It , 2022 [ Trigger warning: some artists arts practices cover topic which you may find triggering]  A film looking at the Neuromajority Allistic art world, in the US.  Worth watching, but could go much further.  This review article 'A new documentary tracks the ups and downs of  ‘making it’  in the contemporary art world' featuring in The Art Newspaper , July 2022, touches on some aspects: 

There is a need to expand against this film, broadening the scope outward, to cover more marginalised artists, in a series, for example.  Looking at why there isn't 'the muscle' further along in art mechanisms in terms of knowledge (understanding Abelism and all the 'isms'), understanding and support? This is where we can and need to create space(s). 
I personally, become much more interested in selection processes between Educational establishments, the validation processes and linkages with organisations after studying i.e selection and streaming of artists [full disclosure : I have worked within my family arts agency - focusing on scandinavian ceramics for over 22 years +, so understood one 'end' of the horse but not fully the other] . The 'what comes next aspects' were playing on my mind well before I completed studying because I needed to 'breathe' to create and felt suffocated and understood deep change was needed.   And now ultimately I aim to be able to create on my terms and help other Neurodivergent creatives where and when possible. 

Some of the most affective art reference books I've found of use. 

I lean more towards Eastern influences, I opt for nature over all, the nature of sensory space and general spaces, and eastern approaches are the closest I've found,(alongside scandinavian influences, the phenomenal findings in and the neurosciences, emboidiment practices and my own neurodivergent community) to where the truest nourishment and space(S) needed to breathe were for me. It will vary for all artists, per your interests and influences, but I've found these books to be of most use and which I often return to, finding different aspects every time:  

'Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers' by Leonard Koren http://www.leonardkoren.com/lkwa.html

'Tell them I said No' . 'This collection of essays by Martin Herbert considers various artists who have withdrawn from the art world or adopted an antagonistic position toward its mechanisms'..........'Herbert examines the nature of retreat, whether in protest, as a deliberate conceptual act, or out of necessity'.   https://www.sternberg-press.com/product/tell-them-i-said-no-grouped-main/ 

'Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants' Responses Following Art Making'   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5004743/  [2016] by Girija Kaimal, Kendra Ray, and Juan Muniz

A new addage (2022): 

'The creative act : A way of being'. Rick Rubin.  https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/product/rick-rubin/the-creative-act-a-way-of-being
* Note:   Apply your own Neurodivergent filtering knowledge to the suggestions made throughout the book.  Example: 'whole body listening' mentioned in the 'Listening' chapter may not be viable for you because we already absorb too much information.  Adapt to your lived sensory experience knowledge not what others presume you 'should'.  

Quick nourishment and encouragement Instagram accounts from other creatives:  

The Creative Independent : https://instagram.com/thecreativeindependent?igshid=YmMYMTA2M2Y= 

Inspired To Write : https://instagram.com/inspiredtowrite?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

*Please note: This page is intermittedly updated, amended and added to. And is considered a 'live' document.  

Pernille Fraser 2021, 2022, 2023, *2024