HOPE: With the worsening crises — of humanity, democracy, climate change and mental health, not to mention the small matter of a global pandemic — in the UK and globally, it can’t be business as usual anymore. I seek strength in Rebecca Solnit, who says that ‘Hope is […] a power you don’t have to throw away. […] In uncertainty lies the power to influence the future. Now is not the time to despair, but to act’. There is much work that we as beings/researchers/managers/makers/educators/thinkers/doers can and must do together.
MATCH-MAKING: Inspired by my fulfilling partnership with Professor of Psychiatry Philip Asherson, and drawing on the framework of productive antagonisms which I outlined in collaboration with a geographer Professor Alan Latham (Latham and Tan 2016), I aim to curate a residency-cum-collaboration programme that will lead to an exhibition asking, ‘What Could A Neurodiversity-led 2050 Look Like?’ I want to matchmake unlikely pairs of neurodiverse artists and designers with scientists and technologists, and choreograph ways for them to work collaboratively towards the co-creation of new pilots and prototypes of apps, objects or experiences. This programme shouts, ‘Look! This is what the future could look like!’ Let’s co-create a better reality.
GET IN TOUCH! Do you want to be matchmade? Do you want to support this proposal as partnering institution?
Caption: Maze/Amazed. 2012 drawing based on GPS of my runs in Regent’s Park. From Kaidie’s 1000-Day Trans-Run (Kai Syng Tan 2009-2014).