THE DYSPLA RESIDENCY 2020 HAVE ANNOUNCED THEIR JUDGES FINALISTS!
Press Release September 2020
DYSPLA, the longest-running arts organisation dedicated to recognising the creative benefits of Neurodivergent artists, is pleased to welcome this yearâs esteemed Judging Panel: Shanna Martens, (Development Executive of Vertigo Films) Colin Hambrook, (Editor of Disability Arts Online) Professor Derval Tubridy, (Professor of English Literature and Visual Culture, Goldsmiths) Film Earls Court, (Producers of Earl's Court Film Festival) Akua Gyamfi, (Founder of The British Blacklist) and Dr Julia Pascal, (DYSPLA Resident Winner 2019). Â
Collectively, they represent a 360º perspective of the creative industry and have selected the following writers and artists for interviews: Aislinn Evans, Mike Forshaw, Nacheal Catnott, Rosie Baldwin, Thomas Morgan Evans, Matthew Gabrielli, Isabella Albuquerque Sperotto, Janet Barnett, Michael Toluwalope Okanlawon, Ella Jade Peck Mesma, and Cassie Atkinson. We look forward to selecting two participants onto our fully funded DYSPLA Residency.
With the additional support of Earls Court Film, one of the winning writers will receive a grant of ÂŁ1,500 towards the production costs of producing their finished script into a Short film. Earlâs Court Film Festival together with DYSPLA will also assist with casting, rehearsal spaces, and shooting locations. The finished film will be screened at the Earlâs Court Film Festival (ECFF 2021) in October /November 2021 to audiences in Earlâs Court, Soho, and on various online platforms.
This Residency is unique both in its methodology and in its ability to bring the creative industries, the Disability community and the Academic world together. These types of collaborations and partnerships are invaluable to supporting the creative and professional development of British Neurodivergent talent. Founder, Lennie Varvarides says, âThis Residency is the first step towards professional recognition for many of the artists we work with. To witness how their ideas as well as their confidence grows, over the next year, will be a privilege.â
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Editors Notes: Social Media: Instagram: @Dyspla_festival Twitter: @DYSPLA_Festival Facebook: @DysplaFestival Tumblr: https://tinyurl.com/y4rwbbp2 SHORT/LONG SHARABLE BLURB:
DYSPLA STORYMAKERS RESIDENCY 2020, Funded by Arts Council England and POET announces JUDGES and FINALISTS for the final rounds. Click here for full details: DYSPLA wins Arts Council England and POET funding again, to run their unique Storymakers Residency for Neurodivergent* Creatives. Judges include: Shanna Martens, Colin Hambrook, Professor Derval Tubridy, Film Earls Court, Akua Gyamfi, and Dr Julia Pascal. Finalists include: Aislinn Evans, Matthew Gabrielli, Mike Forshaw, Nacheal Catnott, Rosie Baldwin, Thomas Morgan Evans, Isabella Albuquerque Sperotto, Janet Barnett, Michael Toluwalope Okanlawon, Ella Jade Peck Mesma, and Cassie Atkinson. DYSPLA: DYSPLA is a London-based arts organisation founded by Lennie Varvarides with Kazimir Bielecki and supported by the Arts Council England. The company has been developing the work of Neurodivergent artists since 2009. DYSPLA works internationally in Script Development, 360 Film, Installation Art, Immersive Theatre, Digital Art and Festivals to promote the British Neurodivergent Aesthetic and to develop new Storymakers. DYSPLA is an artist lead organisation, run by ND Artists for ND Artists.
*NEURODIVERGENT: - âSometimes Abbreviated as ND, means having a style of neurocognitive functioning that diverges significantly from the dominant societal standards of ânormalâ. Neurodivergent people include dyslexics, dyspraxics, AD(H)D, autistics, dyscalculics, OCD, dysgraphics, Tourettes, etc.â (Hewlett, Cooper, 2017).
Founder Quote: DYSPLAâs Founder, Lennie Varvarides describes the program as, âA âcoming outâ party for brave new voices in our community. This Residence is an acknowledgement of the creative benefits of Neurodivergence and how it is necessary for the survival of our creative ecology systemâ.
Shanna Martens has been working in development for over 7 years. She started at British horror institution Hammer Films where she cut her teeth working on films like The Woman in Black: Angel of Death and The Lodge, but also gained experience in theatre and comic books through Hammerâs collaborations with Sonia Friedman Productions for a stage adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House. After Hammer, she worked at The Imaginarium, a production company and motion capture studio owned by actor and director Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes) and producer Jonathan Cavendish (Bridget Jonesâ Diary, Elizabeth: The Golden Age). Currently, she is a development executive focussed on television for Vertigo Films and has worked across 3 seasons of Britannia (Sky Atlantic) and Bulletproof (Sky1) as well as a wide slate of other projects in development.Â
Colin Hambrook is editor of Disability Arts Online. He has worked as a manager/ editor/ researcher/ sub-editor for a variety of web and print-based disability arts and mainstream publications since 1994. He first established DAO Ltd in 2004 and has striven towards a vision for the journal as a place, which publishes professional arts writing, arts media and discussion, giving a voice to arts practitioners who identify with a disability as a creative, artistic and political force.
Film Earls Court has co-produced, awarded funding grants and screened locally shot films made by emerging filmmakers at the annual Earl's Court Film Festival since 2015. EFC also screens and organises competitions for the UK and international short film submissions at ECFF in Earls Courtâs wonderful cinematic venues. Many Earlâs Court short films have been selected or entered for screening at other film festivals such as Tribeca, Sundance and BAFTA qualifying festivals.
Akua Gyamfi has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, with a career spanning fashion, film, television, theatre, print and online media. In 2012 Akua founded The British Blacklist, a platform that celebrates the talents of British Black creatives across Screen, Stage, Literature and Sound. She also produces podcasts Your Aunties Could Never, and TBB Talks. Alongside writer/producer Leon Mayne, Akua is the co-creator/co-exec producer and host of industry round table series The Circle. In 2019 Akua joined forces with Soul Film, The New Black Film Collective, and We Are Parable to launch the S.O.U.L. Film Festival and an annual event which showcases the best of Black filmmakers and content creators from the UK and the wider Diaspora.
Derval Tubridy is a Professor at Goldsmiths, University of London. A writer and artist, her practice explores the intersection between language, materiality and process in modern and contemporary literature and the visual arts, with a focus on neurodiversity in performance. Derval Tubridy has authored several publications including Thomas Kinsella: The Peppercanister Poems (2001) and is the reviews editor of The Samuel Beckett Circle.
Dr Julia Pascal is a playwright, theatre director, a Research Fellow at King's College London, and one of last year's DYSPLA storymaker residents. She was the first woman director at the National Theatre. Her stage plays have been produced internationally and have won prizes. Her awards have included a NESTA Dreamtime Fellowship, an Alfred Bradley BBC Award, Moondance Award and she was a finalist in the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Award of Excellence in Playwriting. Julia was nominated for the 2017 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award.
Lennie Varvarides is an award-winning writer and director, and a first-generation Cypriot, born in London to immigrant parents and brought up in the rag trade. Lennie studied fine art at UAL and has an MA in Writing for Performance. As an Award-Winning Filmmaker, Lennie is the Director and Creative Producer of DYSPLA, a studio producing the work of neurodivergent storymakers. Funded by the Arts Council England, DYSPLA produces film, theatre and installation and is an advocacy for the neurodivergent creative advantage.Â
Kazimir Bielecki is an award-winning neurodivergent artist, who creates moving image and installation work with a strong narrative of social conscience and equality. In 2019 Kazimir directed and produced two Art Council England funded VR installations. âTwo Womenâ for The Arts and Science Festival of Birmingham University, and the BeatFreaks collective, part of the Festival of Audacity. âBody of the Godsâ was commissioned by Bath University for the research group PASCAL was presented at Asia House and The Canvas Gallery in London. Kazimir was also awarded DYCP funding from the Arts Council England to explore my neurodivergent creative methodology.
Funders - Arts Council England & POET (Protection of English Trust)
Partner - Earlâs Court Film Festival (ECFF): Supports Filmmakers with grants, location and production office support, as well as accepting short film entries for screening at ECFF in Earlâs Courtâs wonderful cinematic venues. Many Earlâs Court short films have been selected or entered for screening at other film festivals such as Tribeca, Sundance and BAFTA qualifying festivals.
Media Partner - Disability Arts Online (DAO) a unique online journal with a passion to support disabled or marginalized artists through networking, discussion and profile aimed at achieving a widespread appreciation for the richness and diversity of disability arts and culture. Our readership consists of majorly (65 per cent) of disabled artists and disabled people with an interest in the arts. Our mission is to spread the word about the impact of work being made in the disability arts sector. Our other main demographic (35 per cent) are people working for other arts organisations who spearhead the professional practice of disabled artists, writers, performers, choreographers, curators or theatre-makers, or for art institutions that provide access to the arts for disabled people. Disability Arts Online gets over 25,000 page views a month.
















