The Anfinn Project

A significant gap exists in the intersecting research fields of creative practice and neurodiversity.

This gap is about the contribution of neurodiverse creative practitioners to the investigation of neurodiverse practices and processes.

It discriminates against neurodiverse creative researchers, and it limits the potential for innovative practices to benefit wider creative fields.

Neurodiversity in creativity is not a problem to be solved, but an exciting area of innovative practices which should be explored.

This project investigates specific neurodiverse creative practices.

It will also look at new ways to communicate and work together which are better for us.

These may be things like

• ‘parallel collaboration’ (working on the same project without using ‘real time’ or ‘face to face’ interactions);
• nonverbal ways to collaborate;
• communicating and researching using creative practice.

The research will be carried out by the whole group using creative work, reflection, consensus and review.

It is multidisciplinary, working within the disciplines of Creative Writing and Disability Studies as well as Linguistics, and arts and activist organisations beyond academia.

Our findings will be gathered and shared through performances, talks, publications and other formats that work for us.

Our findings about existing practices, new performative and collaborative modes, new theories and new ideas for change will be shared within and beyond academic, creative and activist communities using ‘neurodiversity-optimised’ techniques developed during the project. This study of neurodiverse ‘parallel poesis’ will open new spaces for the ongoing performative making of civil society.

The original project proposal and an outline of the research methodologies will be added to this page shortly.