Neurodiversity as Knowledge: Art, Agency, and Exhibition-Based Research

Independent Research Symposium

Date: 24 March, 16-18:30, 25 March - online
Format: 15-minute presentations (English/Hebrew)
Venue: Social Sciences Library, Tel Aviv University (physical host)
Intellectual host: ArtNeuroVerse Biennale Research Group
Submission deadline: 1 March
Notification of acceptance: 5 March

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About the Symposium

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This symposium is an interdisciplinary research event exploring neurodiversity through artistic practice, cultural representation, and exhibition-based research. The symposium is held as part of the public program of the exhibition “Bridge: Inside Out”, (Tel Aviv University), dedicated to the art and stories of neurodivergent artists.

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The event takes place physically at the Social Sciences Library of Tel Aviv University, which hosts the exhibition and provides the venue for the symposium.

The intellectual framework, research agenda, and curatorial direction are developed independently by the organizing research group.

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The symposium moves beyond medicalized, deficit-based, or purely therapeutic frameworks of neurodiversity. Instead, it approaches neurodivergent experience as a source of artistic, cultural, and epistemic knowledge.

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A central premise of the symposium is that art and exhibitions are not merely representational spaces, but can function as research environments — places where knowledge is produced through form, materiality, narration, embodiment, and audience encounter.

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Background and Research Context

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The symposium is initiated within the framework of ArtNeuroVerse Biennale , from which the independent research group has emerged.

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Formed through the biennale’s artistic and curatorial processes, the group developed as a space for sustained inquiry into neurodivergent experience through art, exhibitions, and interdisciplinary research.

The initiative seeks to expand and deepen understanding of how artistic practice enables the study, articulation, and negotiation of neurodivergent experience — both for neurodivergent artists themselves and for broader cultural, educational, and social contexts.

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The symposium is conceived as a platform for:

• developing shared conceptual and methodological tools,

• fostering professional exchange between researchers and practitioners working in this field,

• building long-term interdisciplinary connections,

• and supporting intellectual growth through dialogue grounded in artistic practice.

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Conceptual Focus

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Rather than asking how neurodiversity is represented in art, the symposium asks:

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How does neurodivergent agency appear, operate, or become visible through artistic and cultural practices?

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To address this, the symposium focuses on two main trajectories:

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1. Self-represented neurodivergent agency

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Artistic practices in which neurodivergent authors articulate their own experience, perception, or agency.

This includes visual art, performance, sound, literature, theatre, and other forms where neurodivergent subjectivity is expressed from a first-person position.

Here, agency is embedded in artistic decisions such as rhythm, repetition, narrative structure, fragmentation, silence, excess, or withdrawal. Artistic practice is approached as a way of thinking, coping, structuring reality, and creating livable worlds.

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2. Represented neurodivergent subjectivity

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Artistic and cultural works in which neurodivergent experience appears through characters, narratives, dramaturgical structures, or fictional figures.

This trajectory includes literature, theatre, film, and other narrative forms where neurodivergent subjects are represented rather than self-authored.

The focus lies on how agency, voice, and difference are constructed, mediated, enabled, or constrained within cultural representation.

The symposium places these trajectories in dialogue rather than opposition.

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Key Questions

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Contributions may address, among others, the following:

• How does neurodivergent agency manifest through artistic form and aesthetic decisions?

• How can artistic practice function as a method of coping, regulation, or survival?

• How are neurodivergent subjects constructed in literature, theatre, and narrative media?

• What ethical questions arise when representing neurodivergent experience?

• How can exhibitions function as epistemic and social spaces?

• How do institutional norms shape visibility and accessibility?

• What knowledge emerges through art that is not accessible through conventional research?

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Types of Contributions

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We welcome a wide range of formats and approaches. Presentations may include:

• Scholarly papers

• Presentations of artistic works cases 

• Exhibition case studies or curatorial reports

• Practice-based research presentations

• Performative lectures or theatrical analyses

• Reflections on works in progress

There is no single required format. Contributors are invited to propose the form that best suits their work.

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Disciplinary Scope

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We invite contributions from theory and practice alike, including but not limited to:

• Art and curatorial studies

• Artistic research

• Literature and theatre

• Performance studies

• Cultural and visual studies

• Philosophy and aesthetics

• Sociology and anthropology

• Psychology and neurodiversity studies

• Disability studies

• Education and pedagogy

Interdisciplinary and hybrid approaches are especially welcome.

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Format and Accessibility

• Each presentation: 15 minutes

• The symposium is attentive to different rhythms, sensory needs, and modes of presence

• Researchers, artists, curators, educators, and practitioners at all stages are welcome

• Institutional affiliation is not required

• Participants of the symposium will receive certificates of participation.

• The presented abstracts will be included in the digital catalog of the project “Bridge: Inside Out”.

 

ArtNeuroVerse Biennale Research Group

• Kate Finkelshtein — co-founder of ArtNeuroVerse Biennale, PhD student, Bar-Ilan University
   

• Dr. Sivan Regev — occupational therapy, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
   

• Vera Gailis — independent researcher, artist, and curator
   

• Dr. Anna Smoliarova — Hebrew University of Jerusalem
   

• Yana Volkov — artist, undergraduate student in neurobiology, Tel Aviv University
   

The group brings together researchers at different academic stages — including doctoral researchers and an undergraduate researcher — and operates through non-hierarchical, process-oriented collaboration.

Individual institutional affiliations are listed for informational purposes only and do not define the intellectual hosting of the symposium.

Submission guidelines:

Please submit a 300-word abstract and a short bio to anvbiennale@gmail.com no later than 1 March.