Neurodivergent Creative Network Round-Up

The April 2022 issue of the DYSPLA NEWSLETTER includes opportunities for visual artists, actors and writers

DYSPLA grabs every opportunity to promote their diverse network of Neurodivergent Creatives. Please read about what our Neurodivergent community is working on below:

1. THE LIBERTY FESTIVAL & DEPTFORD X

Call-Out for London-based Artists

For more information about how to apply, please click?HERE.

Liberty Festival?and Deptford X?are calling for?already existing artworks?from?London-based artists?to exhibit at the?Liberty Festival in July 2022?presented in partnership with ‘We Are Lewisham’, the London Borough of Culture 2022.?Liberty Festival?is the?Mayor of London’s flagship festival?of high-quality work by?D/deaf and disabled artists. Please submit work?that explore ideas and discourse around disability, art and inclusion. All work in 2D, 3D, video, digital and/or sound form will be considered.

Selected artists will receive ￡250 to cover expenses and transportation. Access provisions will be allocated for each work. Artworks will be for sale with 100% proceedings going to the artists.

Liberty Festival?has also commissioned?DYSPLA?to present an exclusive collection of artistic works by?VR/XR Makers who identify as Disabled and/or Neurodivergent.?This collection is curated specifically from the Mayor of London’s only disabled festival and is free to attend all day from 22–24 July 2022. If you would like to join DYSPLA’s growing community of?Neurodivergent Mixed Reality and Digital Artists, please click?HERE.

2. ENFIELD WINTER LIGHTS (EWL) FESTIVAL

Public Art Exhibition in North London (Feb 2022 — 31st April 2022)

DYSPLA is excited to be part of the?Enfield Winter Lights Festival?with the?touring project,?WordsNotWalls,?first exhibited in 2021. Re-contextualised specifically for the EWL Festival, the work explores England’s ‘cultural apartheid’ and the value of creativity on young people’s self esteem.

The exhibition is a mix of micro poems that read like 21st Century affirmations and digital art.

The work highlights links between the rise of mental health issues in children and the lack of art provisions in schools and communities.?By engaging local primary school children in the creation of micro poetry and presenting it directly on the streets, DYSPLA amplifies children’s voices while creating free innovative street art experiences in communities that have little or no art provision. You can visit DYSPLA’s art installation of?WordsNotWalls?at?Palace Exchange Shopping Centre in Enfield Town, North London until 31st April 2022.

From May 2022 DYSPLA will develop its second phase of the?WordsNotWalls?project after receiving funding from Arts Council England to work with another ten students from Honilands Primary School. New micro and digital poetry created during 6 workshops, will be?shared?with?over 600 children on?the school grounds in collaboration with?The Wiggle Wonderland.

The Wiggle Wonderland?is an?architecturally designed?space?created by?Lucy Grainge and Beau McCarthy, that will house the children's large scale poetry for two weeks as well as doubling up as an outside class room. The Headteacher explained that they wanted to make poetry a, “bigger deal after the success of last years WordsNotWalls project” and with the continued support of Arts Council England, DYSPLA hopes to continue develop new young poets every year.

3. ‘THE TEST’ — FILM PROJECT LOOKING FOR COLLABORATORS

CASTING CALL for London-Based Neurodivergent Actors

Director?Alex Tsilifonis?Short Film —?THE TEST?is supported by the Greek Film Fund and a graduate of the MET Film School. His latest short film, Rookie, was screened at Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying film festivals. His new Short follows Jay Baker, an imaginative young boy who will face his biggest “test” yet — that of being diagnosed with Dyslexia.

The Short film is produced by Sweetdoh Films and they are casting for?Neurodivergent Actors?for the roles of Jay Baker and Richard Baker.

Leading Role — Jay Baker: Aged?7–8, Neurodivergent/Dyslexic, fancies himself a “gangster,” someone who is tough, cool, and resilient, even though he is actually quite a dorky young kid.

Richard Baker: Jay’s Farther,?30s + Neurodivergent/Dyspraxia, unwieldy and clumsy creating a humorous contrast.

Other roles include:

The TUTOR:?(20–40s) Stern female teacher.

DR. ELLIS:?(40+), a colossal man, muscular as the doctor.

NORA:?(55+) a gruesome witch-like receptionist — Looking to cast anyone who wants to delve into character work would be preferable and is fine with prosthetic makeup.

Shoot Dates:?Thursday 21st — Sunday 24th April 2022

Rate:?￡150 p/d

Location:?London, UK

Please leave a comment if you would like to get involved in this fascinating project.

4. ‘CUCKOO’ — FILM PROJECT LOOKING FOR COLLABORATORS

A short film by Paul Casar

If you are a London based producer, production company, actor, or director and love script development, please leave a message and we will connect you with?Paul Casar?who is looking to build a creative team and submit an application for this year’s?BFI short film fund.

The short film ‘Cuckoo’ follows our protagonist ‘Ziggy’ who identifies as Neurodivergent and has a passion for birdwatching and the music of David Bowie. Whilst enjoying his hobby he encounters a group of wayward teenagers who attempt to exploit him through the horrendous practice of Cuckooing by offering him a new camera phone. Using his knowledge of video capture and photography Ziggy hatches a plan to defend his home, his nest and turn the tables on his aggressors.

The short film ‘Cuckoo’ will hopefully lay the foundations to then collaborate again on the feature script ‘ZIGMAN’ with producer Lindsay Fraser.

For more information about the project or how to get involved,?please leave a comment.

5. THE ADHD FOUNDATION IN STOKE-ON-TRENT

DYSPLA_WordsNotWalls x Umbrella Project — June 2022

DYSPLA is proud to announce a collaboration with the Liverpool-based?ADHD Foundation, who commissioned DYSPLA to run a series of artist-led Augmented Reality [AR] poetry workshops, after witnessing the positive effects the WordsNotWalls?project brought to children and communities last year.

Students from the?Intuition School in Stoke-on-Trent?were invited to participate in intuitive performance and to co-create spoken-word micro?poetry, a collection of which will then be presented as A6 postcards and AR Text Art posters on the empty shop front windows above.

This art work will be presented and distributed as part of?The ADHD Foundation’s Umbrella Project, a globally-recognised public art initiative raising the awareness and understanding of?Neurodiversity in children. DYSPLA’s digital exploration is both an?innovative artistic approach?to uniting text and virtual art, as well as an attempt at addressing digital poverty and improving creative digital literacy in Stoke-on-Trent.

The 6 poetry workshops conducted by DYSPLA in Spring 2022 provided a special opportunity for the students of Intuition School to voice and express their unique experiences of ‘Self’ through poetry and encouraged to perform their work digitally.

6. BFI NETWORK SHORTS SCHOOL — RESOURCE FOR FILMMAKERS

A week-long online bootcamp, delivered by Film London.

The?BFI NETWORK Shorts School, originally designed to immerse anyone interested in applying to the BFI Short Film Fund. Participants will hear from BFI’s short film alumni, industry experts and established creators who share their experiences on every angle of a short film’s life cycle, from inspiration and process to navigating the industry.?BFI Short Film Fund?applicants can find recordings of the Shorts School?HERE.

7. DYSPLA_CHAT ON ZOOM

On the first Sunday of every month —?RSVP for free HERE

If you identify as a Neurodivergent Creative please join us on Sunday 1st May 2022. DYSPLA_CHAT is a?peer-to-peer monthly gathering?of like-minded Neurodivergent Creatives, who meet?over Zoom?to discuss Neurodivergent Creativity, Methodology, and Strategy. Discussion topics include opportunities form DYSPLA’s ongoing projects and initiatives, as well as ways to have your work published in our Medium publication,?The Museum of the Neurodivergent Aesthetic.

‘Mouth’, Photography by Kazimir Bielecki, Copyright belongs to DYSPLA.

Thank you for reading this post — I hope you will consider participating in some of our 2022 projects!