Guided by the question "What can neurodiversity do?", the collective shy*play will story their art and pedagogical practice of Doing Neurodiversity. Aion and antje will tell one of the many stories that make up the ever-evolving world of shy*play, foregrounding its urgency, emergence, desires, and techniques of improvisation. These techniques are crafted to shift the conditions of participation away from neurotypicality and towards the creation of neurodiverse socialities together-in-difference. The presentation will be storied through a combination of autoethnography, philosophy, poetry, projected photos, video and the various materials that will perform in the space, among other fabrics that shy*play will bring in. A story for shy*play can never be told without also exploring and emphasizing the rich interrelationships of human and more-than-human at all times.
antje nestel (they/them) is an artist, a teacher, a neurodivergent bodymind, a companion to their cat, and a facilitator of participatory events, which they sometimes refer to as art or learning as the accommodation of difference. They obtained a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Gerrit Rietveld Academy and a research master’s degree in Media, Art and Performance at Utrecht University. antje was also a participant at De ateliers in Amsterdam. Together with Aion Arribas, they have created a platform that invents with neurodiversity. This platform, currently named shyplay, focuses on exploring with neurodiversity not as a process of explanation, but as a relational practice in difference. Through shyplay, antje is interested in resisting the pathology paradigm that characterizes neurodiverse bodyminds as disordered. They are rethinkingdoing with neurodiversity to create different neurodiverse ways of living in mutual inclusion. shyplay is also a project hosted by the Research Lectorate of the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam (DAS Research) and a THIRD fellow 2024-2026 of the same department. antje was awarded the Academy of Theater and Dance Teacher-Researcher Fellowship 2023-2024 for their project "Neurodiversity as Relation in Arts Education" in collaboration with Aion Arribas and their platform shyplay.
Aion Arribas (they/them) is a neurodivergent movement artist, transdisciplinary researcher and teacher. They obtained a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from Escuela Numero 10 in Madrid, a second bachelor’s degree in Choreography from SNDO in Amsterdam, and a master's degree in Fine Arts and Design from KABK in The Hague. Their work dances in between questions of embodiment and bodying, the interplay of creation with auto-theory, and the advancement of a neurodiversity paradigm through creative practices. Aion’s work often delves into the intersection of sexuality and neurodiversity accompanied by a neuroqueering approach. Along with antje nestel, they co-created shy*play, a platform focused on doing neurodiversity as a relational practice in difference. This approach challenges the logic of normality and neurotypicality, striving to create ever-shifting forms of sociality. shy*play is also a project hosted by the Research Lectorate of the Academy of Theater and Dance in Amsterdam (DAS Research) and a THIRD fellow 2024-2026 of the same department. Aion was awarded the Academy of Theatre and Dance Teacher-Researcher Fellowship 2023-2024 for their project "Neurodiversity as Relation in Arts Education" in collaboration with antje nestel and their platform shy*play