DYSPLA is a Neurodivergent-led, award-winning arts studio producing and developing the work of Neurodivergent storymakers.
DYSPLA makes art and conducts research into the Neurodivergent Aesthetic with a focus on short form narrative. We work in the following mediums: Digital, Print, Photography, Poetry, Performance, XR (VR, 360º Film, AR, MR), Moving Image, Theatre and Installation to elucidate a new artistic aesthetic defined by the cognitive difference of neurodivergence.
Supported by the Arts Council England.
PROJECTS & EVENTS:
• 18th Apr 2024
GUEST SPEAKER & PUBLICATION
• 16th Feb 2024
GUEST SPEAKER
The Neurodivergent Aesthetic - Film & Screen Media, University of Cork
• 1-2 June 2023
WORKSHOP
“Sometimes Abbreviated as ND, neurodivergent 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.” The Westminster AchievAbility Commission for Dyslexia and Neurodivergence 2018.
DYSPLA manifesto:
• Produce and develop the work of dyslexic and neurodivergent storymakers.
• Create stories with undervalued and unheard communities around Britain and the world.
• Build a national and international network of dyslexic and neurodiverse creatives.
• Inspire Britain’s neurodivergent storymaking community
The above video explains the relationship between neurodivergence and cinematic methodology. This introductory analysis explores the relationship between neurodivergent conditions, such as dyslexia, and some of our most celebrated Auteurs within Cinema Industry. We have found this strong relationship links neurodivergent traits and cinematic methodology and has lead us to believe that neurodivergent cognitive functioning is a necessity in creating innovative cinema.
Dyslexic and Neurodivergent storymakers have a strong heritage in narrative and non-linear art history. This analysis of cinematic history features some work by the following neurodivergent filmmakers… Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, George Lucas, Steve McQueen, Tim Burton, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, MartinScorsese, Orson Welles, Guy Ritchie, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Billy Wilder, Charlie Chaplin, David Lean, Francis Ford Coppola, Nicolas Winding Refn, Zack Snyder, Guy Ritchie, Sylvester Stallone, Joe Wright, Walt Disney, JF Lawton, Alejandro Iñárritu and Jim Jarmusch. This is just a small list of artists that share neurodivergence as their commonality, and as their genius.
The UK’s education system has belittled and undervalued the neurodivergent community for centuries. Cuts to education in the arts, craft and music, lead by the worship of academia and the mythical neurotypical are destroying our young storymakers.
DYSPLA speaks up for the unrepresented voices in our society; those who are disenfranchised politically, socially, economically and educationally. We have built a creative community with the facility to enable artists to explore their craft to the extent that would only usually be available to established artists and large production houses. We are democratising the development and production process to allow early career writers, artists, and grassroots activists to be heard.
DYSPLA believes that our education system is suited for the few. The ‘social model of disability’ says that disability is caused by the way society is organised, rather than by a person’s difference. We are looking at ways of removing barriers that restrict life choices for those who think differently. By undervaluing the creative, the risk taking and the empathetic, the UK have lost countless great minds over the years and will continue to, unless we realise society is made up of a plethora of individual minds.
In recent days, one of the UK’s great dyslexic resources went into administration. The loss of Dyslexia Action is another blow to a neurodivergent community which lacks government support. It is another blow to the voice of millions that deserve to be heard.
DYSPLA dreams of a world where each and every creative mind, no matter how different from society’s norms, is individually valued and can flourish within an empathetic and supportive environment. We exist in the hope of building the crucial next generation of innovative thinkers.
DYSPLA is run by two neurodivergent artists, Lennie Varvarides and Kazimir Bielecki.
