On art, neurodiversity & giant octopussies: reflections on the art-science commission #MagicCarpet by Kai Syng Tan

Abstract

We Sat On a Mat and Had A Chat And Made Maps! #MagicCarpet was an art-psychiatry project (2017-2019) initiated, led, curated and created by Dr Kai Syng Tan, as the first artist-in-residence of Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre (SGDP), King’s College London. Kai’s mentor was Professor of Psychiatry Philip Asherson. This booklet documents Kai's reflections of the project. It is her invitation for feedback, and participation for #MagicCarpet’s next adventures. The 18-month programme generated a creative space for people from diverse and divergent backgrounds to gather and chat about mind wandering, constructs of ‘normality’, and neurodiversity – all problematic, unstable terms and, thus, fascinating. #MagicCarpet mobilises Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and how that relates to mind wandering and visual art as a case study. Processes include an artist-in-residency programme, workshops and a range of artistic outputs, including a tapestry art installation, drawings, performances and badges.10,000 people have experienced #MagicCarpet through its exhibitions, workshops and keynote lectures. Venues include the Science Museum and Southbank Centre. Platforms include the Arts in Mind Festival in London and SOS Dyslexia Conference in San Marino. Press include Big Issue North and Resonance FM. There were also 2 podcasts and 13 short films. One of the films was in the Official Selection of the 2019 Arts and Humanities Research Council Research In Film Award, while another was an EU-funded one viewed 17,545 times in the first month of publication. Publications include an article that was read 2000 times in the first 2 days in The Conversation (10.6 million readers) and a top 2018 editorial on neurodiversity and women in Disability Arts Online. 100% of the feedback for several events state that the work challenges existing understanding of cognitive differences, mental health and interdisciplinary collaborations. An image won a National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement 2018 Images Competition Award for Culture Change, while another was on the cover of British Journal of Psychiatry. #MagicCarpet artworks have also been nominated for Sovereign Asian Art Award 2019, the largest art prize in Asia Pacific.Exuberant and playful, #MagicCarpet exploits art’s propensity for ambiguity, and extends the ambition of the All Party Parliamentary Group report on Arts Health and Wellbeing with its high- quality artistic outcomes that build cultural intelligence. Inclusive and empowering, #MagicCarpet contributes to discourses and practices around: arts leadership; socially-engaged art; drawing; installation, tapestry, performance, disability and participatory art; art writing; interdisciplinary and cross-sectorial collaboration, feminism, intersectionality, medical humanities, inclusive practices and (neuro)diversity, while spearheading what could be termed ‘neurodiverse art’ and ‘ADHD art’.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Kai Syng Tan: orcid.org/0000-0002-4491-7166

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