NEWS: Opportunity to join Neurodivergent Artists Network

A funded opportunity for neurodivergent artists in Scotland has come up to join a collective, write a manifesto for neurodiversity in the arts and exhibit their work as part of a group exhibition in Autumn 2021.

This opportunity is for 4 neurodivergent artists to join an artists’ collective and jointly draft a manifesto for neurodiversity in the arts, as part of a project funded by Creative Scotland.

“Neurodivergent artists are frequently shut out by the system of networking for exposure. Issues with executive functioning and cognitive load can make dealing with funding bodies and applications overwhelming. Neurotypical gatekeepers often insist on work that fits with their ideas of what autism is or should be, as something tragic and pitiable. But when artists do create work around our difficulties, it can keep us siloed in a separate ‘disability’ or ‘outsider’ arts track, devalued and tokenised.

We are more likely than the general population to be unemployed and to experience poverty. We can’t afford to ‘work for exposure’, and our slow, considered artistic process doesn’t fit with the pressures of the commercial art world. The system simply isn’t built for us. And as budgets are squeezed and priorities shift in a post-Covid-19 world, these issues look set to get worse.

On top of this, neurodivergent artists often face these issues alone, without support structures or bodies to advocate for them. If we are to create alternatives to the current exclusionary model, neurodivergent people need to organise. The current state of dislocation and uncertainty presents challenges but it also an opportunity to remake the system – to imagine and demand a better one. 

This project uses an artists’ collective as a starting point to highlight and challenge the exclusion of neurodivergent artists through the development of a manifesto for neurodiversity in the visual arts. We will then stage an exhibition that showcases the work of neurodivergent artists, and challenges public perceptions of neurodivergent people more generally.”

Successful applicants will receive a £450 stipend and the opportunity exhibit their work in a funded group show in Edinburgh in Autumn 2021. This opportunity is for artists who identify as neurodivergent and resident in Scotland.

For more information click here or email: neurodivergentartistsnetwork@gmail.com.

The deadline for applications is Friday 31st July at 5:00pm.