New festival in Cork to celebrate the work of neurodivergent artists

Cork Opera House artist-in-residence, Jody O’Neill will feature in the festival. File Picture:

A new one-day festival celebrating the work of neurodivergent artists is set to take place in Cork next month.

Neurofestivity - A Celebration and Exploration, presented by Cork Opera House, will take the form of five events at UCC on March 10 featuring work by neurodivergent artists, and writers and performers such as Cork Opera House artist-in-residence, Jody O’Neill, Stefanie Preissner, Kel Menton and Ian Lynam.

Artists, including emerging writers from the neurodiverse student community in UCC, as well as established writers and performers, will be invited to present established and in-progress work, encouraging dialogue about neurodiverse work and exploring the many nuances of being a neurodivergent artist.

The programme will also welcome visual artists from the Neurodiverse and Dyslexic Visual Artist’s Group and will finish with a performance of autistic theatre writer Roderick Ford’s new production, Daughter of God in The Granary Theatre.

Stefanie Preissner. File Picture: Moya Nolan

The CEO of Cork Opera House, Eibhlín Gleeson, said the festival is an opportunity to bring neurodivergent artists together and explore the processes of making work today.

"There is much to celebrate and much to talk about and we hope this will be the start of a wider platform for the presentation of work by this exciting community of artists in the future,” she said.

Ms O’Neill said "a unique creativity and fusion" occurs in spaces where neurodivergent artists come together. 

"I’m looking forward to seeing what conversations will take place on the day and where they will lead us in the future,” she said.  

Tickets to the daytime events in UCC are free, and are available on the Opera House website.