I enjoy playing with words and the written language as creative material. However, certain ‘standard’ approaches can present difficulties. Being dyslexic, academic writing and reading aren’t often a good fit. Nonetheless, over the years, I have published 11 peer-reviewed journal articles, 7 book chapters and 10 books/edited volumes, oftentimes applying tactics to irritate logocentric, didactic, linear tropes claiming objectivity and ‘truth’ in academia. I have also published 37 op-eds, reviews, catalogue entries and more on professional & popular platforms. For what others have written/said about me (with me and/or behind my back), click here. For the rest of my CV, click here.
12 PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES
- In progress: Tan, KS and Burgess, Z, c2025, ‘Looking for Love: A case study of socially-engaged visual arts research and tentacular, productive antagonisms with the higher education institution’ (working title). Visual Arts Research, University of Illinois.
- Tan, KS 2022, ‘The Artful, Agile and Atypical Octopussy: An embodied interdisciplinary mode of knowledge exchange & creation for atypical times.’ Performance Research Vol. 26, no.2. >1423 views.
- Tan, KS 2021, ‘Art and psychiatry in the 21st century: here’s to more messy – and magical – entanglements’. British Journal of Psychiatry Bulletin, pp. 1-4. Cambridge University Press. >2970 views.
- Tan, KS 2021, ‘Towards an Anti-Racist Fine Art Ph.D.: “Anti-Racism Productive Antagonisms” (ARPA) for the Supervisor, Student and Examiner’. Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education 20 (1): 49–63. Short version on Clore Leadership Diversity & Inclusion.
- Gall, LMH, Gampetro V, Zunszain PA, Tan KS 2021, ‘Covid-19 and Mental Health: Could Visual Art Exposure Help?’ Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 12. >10,237 views (top 10%).
- Tan, KS 2020, ‘Power, Play and Pedagogy’, International Journal of Management, Vol. 7 no 3.
- Tan, KS 2019, ‘Psychia-geographies’, British Journal of Psychiatry, 215(3), pp. b1–b1.
- Tan, KS 2018, ‘An exploration of running as metaphor, methodology, material through the RUN! RUN! RUN! Biennale #r3fest 2016’, Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics (Routledge).
- Tan, KS 2018: in: Bozhilova, N., Michelini, G., Kuntsi, J. and Asherson, P.. Mind wandering perspective on ADHD. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 92, pp.464–476. Commissioned diagram.
- Latham, A & Tan, KS 2016, ‘Running into Each Other’ Cultural Geographies (Sage).
- Tan, KS 2016, ‘Tough Ultramarathons’, Transfers Interdisciplinary Journal of Mobility Studies (Berghahn) 6.3.
- Tan, KS 2012, ‘Monster’, Casarino, C, Sawhney, S and Mowitt, J, ed. Cultural Critique (University of Minnesota Press) no. 80. pp. 105-107.
10 BOOK CHAPTERS
- Invited, accepted, in progress: Tan, K.S. c2026, ‘Looking for Love: A Monster-Mapping’, in J. Southern et al. (eds) Art, Mobilities and Uncertainty. MIT Press, Chapter 3.
- Invited, in progress: ‘Looking for Love: An Inter(-Sectional Dys-)Course’, in C.-J. Kather et al. (eds) Spectrums of Sexuality. TBA.
- Accepted, in progress: Tan, KS. c2025, ‘Ill-Disciplined: Creative, Neurodivergent Intervention and Leadership in Higher Education – A Manifesto’, in J Taylor (ed), Beyond Borders? Articulations, Provocations & Performativities in Arts & Humanities Research. Routledge.
- El Madawi, S, Tan, KS and Trotman N. c2026, ‘Towards a Decolonised “Creative Neurodiversity Studies”: Post-normative futures through neurodiasporic subjectivities and (in)formal education’. In R.Dhital & KS Tan (eds), A Handbook of Neurodiversity and Creative Research, Routledge.
- Two invited entries, in progress: Tan, KS c2025, ‘Hyperactivity’ and ‘Running Artfully’. In The Encyclopaedia of Mobilities, P Adey, K Barry & WQ Lin (eds), Edward Elgar Publishing
- Tan, KS. 2022. ‘An Exploration of Running as Metaphor, Methodology, Material through the RUN! RUN! RUN! Biennale #r3fest 2016’. In Interrelationships Between Sport and the Arts, 1st ed. Sport in the Global Society – Contemporary Perspectives. Routledge.
- Tan, K.S. 2020, ‘Run Riot: On life, and death (of civilisation), and the reveries of running artfully’, in M Freudendal-Pedersen, M Büscher & Sven Kesselring (eds), Handbook on Methods and Applications for Mobilities Research, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 303-314
- Tan, KS 2019, ‘Running (in) Your City’, in M Aguiar, C Mathieson, and L Pearce (eds), Mobilities, Literature, Culture, Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 163–86. ISBN 978-3-030-27072-8
- Tan, KS 2017, ‘Hand-in-Hand: Activating the Body in Motion to Re-Connect with Ourselves and Others amidst a World in Motion and Commotion’, in Drevon, G., Gwiazdzinski, L., Klein, O. and Benayoun, M (eds), Chronotopies: Lecture et écriture des mondes en mouvement (Chronotopics: Time, Art and Cartography. Representations of Populations and Territories in Motion), Elya editions, Grenoble, pp. 59-69. ISBN:9791091336109
10 BOOKS/EDITED VOLUMES
- Tan, Kai Syng. 2024. Re-Imagining Leadership with Neuro-Futurism: An A-Z Towards Collective Liberation. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-031-55376-9 https://kaisyngtan.com/artful/book-springer-nature/.
- Under contract 01/2023 with Routledge: Dhital, R & Tan, KS (eds) 2024. A Handbook of Neurodiversity & Creative Research. Routledge.
- Under contract 01/2023 with World Scientific: Tan, KS 2027. Catalysing Change Through Artful Agitation.
- Tan, KS 2019, On Art, Neurodiversity & Giant Octopussies: Reflections on the Art-Science Commission #MagicCarpet. London: KCL. ISBN: 978-1-908951-28-1.
- Tan, KS & Southern, J (eds) 2018, The Art & Mobilities Network Inaugural Instant Journal.
- Tan, KS (ed) 2016, Useful Journal, for joint SIM University-Leeds Arts University webinar.
- Tan, KS & Sport Singapore (eds) 2015, 8th ASEAN Para Games Opening & Closing Ceremony official programme booklets.
- Tan, KS, Elzenbalmer B et al (ed) 2015, PhD by Design Instant Journal. Co-authored with 10 academics, Leeds Arts University.
- Tan, KS 2014, The Physical & Poetic Processes of Running. UCL. 320-page, 80,000 word thesis downloaded >4227 times.
- Tan, KS 2005, ISLANDHOPPING 2002-2005 Japan. MA thesis in the Japanese language. 130 pages.
- Tan, KS & Chong, H 2000, Dense: Pale Testament / Chlorine. Archived by Live Art Developmental Agency and National Library of Singapore, distributed by Select Books, and . 54 pages.
39 OP-EDS, REVIEWS & MORE ON PROFESSIONAL/POPULAR PLATFORMS
- Tan, Kai Syng. 2024. ‘Looking for Love in 2024’. Society for Research into Higher Education (blog). 2 February 2024. https://srheblog.com/2024/02/02/looking-for-love-in-2024/.
- Tan, Kai Syng. 2022 Using Tentacular Pedagogy to change HE culture, The Society for Research into HE (SRHE). Metrics: Views first two days: 273 views (between 16/11/2022 and 18/11/2022). Ranked 18 of the 374 posts viewed between 11/2022 – 11/2023
- Tan, Kai Syng. 2022. Not letting the (dis)course dry up and run its course: On the persistence, precariousness and creative possibilities of running artfully in a perma-crisis. Commissioned article for Veronique Chance catalogue for solo exhibition Thames Run: Source to Sea, at Oxo Tower London, then UK wide.
- Tan, Kai Syng. 2020 Novel Viruses Require Artful Solutions. Op-ed, Royal Society of Arts Blog.
- 2020 Artful Leadership Against a Crafty Virus. Op-ed, Arts Professional. With Tom Northey.
- 2020 Cat(suit)s and Caring in the Time of COVID-19. Commissioned post, Unlimited blog.
- 2020 Let’s take numbers out of equation for ‘new normal’. Op-ed, Manila Times, with CH Tan.
- 2020 10 Reasons to Collaborate with Neurodiverse + Creative Allies. Commissioned by €5.9m EU Horizon 2020 funded consortium of 17 partners from 8 EU & US countries. Video, slides and transcript
- 2019 Effecting Change Is a Challenging (and Hence Critical) Endeavour. British Medical Journal Medical Humanities blog
- 2019 Transcript of performance, podcast Neurodivergent Leaders in Cultural & Academic Sectors?’ A-N blog.
- 2019 Transcript of performance, podcast: Too Much/ Not Enough “Neurodiversity” in UK Art & Academia? A-N
- 2019 Risk-Taking and ADHD? Mind the Gap Blog. June 19.
- 2019 #ADHDwomen Making #ADHDart to Widen Discourse on Mental Health. PsychART blog.
- 2018 Disability Arts Online Showcase: Unreasonable Adjustments.
- 2018 With Philip Asherson. “How ‘lofty’ Art Can Help the Medical World Reimagine Mental Health.” The Conversation. October 31. 2685 readers within first two weeks of publication.
- 2018 Art and Mobilities: Creative Possibilities. Centre For Mobilities Research Blog (blog). August 6.
- 2018 What else could ‘neurodiversity’ look like? Disability Arts Online editorial. Platform’s top 10 editorial pieces with each of 636 users spending >5.25 minutes on article (siteaverage: 1.42 mins).
- 2018 Mind Wandering: Best Friend or Worst Enemy? An art-science inquiry’. a-n blog
- 2017 With Andrew Stahl. 2017. “A Reflection on Monologue Dialogue 4: Mysticism and Insecurity. Art In An Insecure Age.” London. Slade School of Fine Art website
- 2017 With Philip Asherson. ‘Come Sit on a Mat with an Artist and a Psychiatrist ….’ Mind the Gap blog.
- 2017 Cianetti, Alessandra ed. 2016. “Kai Syng Tan (October 2016).” In Performing Borders: A Study Room Guide on Physical and Conceptual Borders within Live Art – Catalogue, 92–108. Live Art Development Agency Study Guide P3043. Live Art Development Agency.
- 2016 What Has Running Got to Do with Our Divided World? Royal Society of Arts.
- 2016 Interview in Performing Borders: Conversations on Live Art/ Crossings/ Europe.
- 2016 AHRC Peer Review Council Newsletter. Reflection on Horizon Scanning workshop.
- 2016 Invited commentary: ‘Terrifying and Terrific Years’. Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry 50th anniversary magazine.
- 2014 RUN! RUN! RUN! Highgate Harriers Gate. Issue #29.
- 2011 A Mini Rough Guide to The Rough Guide’. In: Gabriel, M., ed. Upgrade! Soft Borders, pp.111-117.
- 2010 My Time Interview: Kaidie and Life 3.0. In: Neuhaus, F., ed. 2010. Urban Tick.
- 2007 Two commissioned essays for 7th Cinema South Festival Catalogue. Israel.
- 2007 The Rather Terrible Slaughter of the Tour Guide! In: Shen, Q., ed. Soft Power. China.
- 2007 Dis-eases/Cease-Fires. In: Wendland, T., ed. Asia Europe Mediations: Contemp. Asian European Art.
- 2005 Programme notes: Works by Video Art students. Sight Media Festival Programme.
- 2005 ‘ISLANDHOPPING’. In: Musashino Art University Exhibition 2004 Catalogue. 185-186.
- 2002 Tremblings Measuring Nothing On Any Scale’. iSh magazine. Singapore.
- 2000 ‘DENSE’. Interview in M. O’Neil ed. Lien magazine. May-Aug. Alliance Francaise du Singapour. 16-19.
- 1998 The Fine Art Awards… across 13 pages in Proud, D. ed. The Slade Journal, Vol.2. Slade.
- 1995 Babe Babe My Lovely Babe’. In: T. Sharp, ed. Small Talk. Arrival Press.