The Museum of the Neurodivergent Aesthetic

Curating the ND* Aesthetic

Newsletters from DYSPLA’s publication on Medium, The Museum of the Neurodivergent Aesthetic. The MoNDA is run and edited by Lennie Varvarides and and Naomi Folb.

The Pub is keen to exhibit the workings of the Neurodivergent* (ND) mind and curate the ND Aesthetic* (ND_A). As DYSPLA is an arts organisation with a strong portfolio of Digital Art and Moving Image, we hope to make this Pub exciting visually and focus just as much on ‘text’ as an object as well as a ‘word’.

Meaning, this is the publication where art and poetry can get along nicely.

*NEURODIVERGENT AESTHETIC

Sometimes Abbreviated as ND, Neurodivergence means having a style of neurocognitive functioning that diverges significantly from the dominant societal standards of ‘normal’. Neurodivergent people include dyslexics, dyspraxics, AD(H)D, autistics (including those with Asperger’s), dyscalculics, OCD, dysgraphics, Tourettes, etc. (Hewlett, Cooper, 2017)

The definition of the Neurodivergent Aesthetic will differ from creator to maker, from audience to spectator. Depending on their neurological difference, each individual will experience the world differently.

The Neurodivergent Aesthetic – a term coined by DYSPLA – is created and viewed by those who see, think and experience the world differently from the subjective norm.

We propose that the Neurodivergent Aesthetic is defined as art created by those who are Neurodivergent. The Neurodivergent Aesthetic is Neurodivergent thinking. Within society, this is known as backward, mixed up and dereistic. We propose that the ND aesthetic is the antithesis of the neurotypical arian idea of a monstrous and robotic, perfect mind. The ND Aesthetic is a transcendental, intuitive, humanist aesthetic, which is led by one's instincts and natural inclinations.Neurodivergent Storymakers have a strong heritage in narrative and non-linear art history and moving image/screen arts. Pablo Picasso, Agatha Christie, Steve McQueen, Quentin Tarantino, Antony Gormley, and Steven Spielberg, are just a few storymakers on an endless list, that share Neurodivergence as their commonality, and as their genius.