Personal Information
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Given name: Anna









Surname: Püschel









Email: anna.pueschel@kuleuven.be









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Your contribution
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Title: Stimming a Space - Stimming as Circling, Looping, Emergent Communication









Format: Project presentation (2)









Main language: English









Abstract:
Stimming a Space explores stimming, neurodivergent self-regulation, as an access tool. The physical needs of neurodivergent individuals (grouping neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD, dyspraxia or autism), often navigating comorbidities, are usually not taken into consideration. Many neurodivergent artists struggle to maintain sustainable careers.
Stimming a Space draws from the emic perspective of a neurodivergent artist and embraces stimming not as a pathological or disruptive trait but as a natural form of self-expression. Stimming is the neurodivergent bodymind soothing itself in an overwhelming world, it is nervous system regulation drawing from embodied knowledge. Embracing stimming not just as a tool to feel better, but as a language and means of expression, Püschel proposes that exploring stimming can offer access to the accommodation of psychological as well as physical needs and therefore contribute to current efforts of institutions to become more inclusive. By exploring what is expressed and transmitted through stimming, and how it can form and facilitate community, this research aims to re-claim narratives away from stigmatized ableist projections on marginalized neurodivergent bodies towards the joyful and proud expression of neurodivergent culture. Drawing from her proposition that stimming is a radical gesture of selfcare, Püschel presents her concept of Neurodivergent Cosmology, dreaming a neurodivergent world as an alternative to the current late-stage capitalist environment that crushes able-bodied and disabled individuals alike. If we embrace different ways of moving through space, if we accept languages beyond words, what concepts for accessibility and inclusion come up, and what do these concepts offer to society as a whole? Püschel proposes to turn to the embodied knowledge of neurodivergent individuals to imagine an entirely different society, a utopian meditation on re-thinking and re-shaping concepts of living together.










Link to the Exposition :  (https://www.researchcatalogue.net/shared/6e6aee020c1f66feb854d5ab054b0210)









Image: https://test.sar2026.ie/system/files/webform/submit_contribution/289/1.%20Stimming%20a%20Space%20thumbnail%2C%20%C2%A9%20Anna%20P%C3%BCschel%202022.jpg









Short biographies of the presenter(s):
- Multidisciplinary artist Anna Püschel (DE/FR) studied Documentary Photography at AKV St.Joost in the Netherlands before studying Fine Arts at LUCA School of Arts in Gent, Belgium, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2019. She has since then built a career in the arts with multiple international exhibitions, among which a solo show at the Mai Manó House of Photography in 2021. Next to exhibiting, she has published two books with The Eriskay Connection and started a PhD trajectory at LUCA School of Arts in 2022. Her practice spans photography, writing, archiving and installations and centers around questions of connection, presence, care and empowerment.










Previous presentations or iterations of the research:
2023 CA²RE Conference Aarhus - presentation of Stimming a Space research
2024 Subject, Object, Practice, Place conference Valletta - presentation of Stimming a Space research
I briefly mention the concept of the Neurodivergent Cosmology  - that I would like to carve out in more detail for this SAR conference presentation - in an article for Cogitatio Press (2025) and elaborate in more detail on it in an article for Cosmos Magazine that is currently under revision.














Requirements
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Additional information:
For this presentation, I would like to focus in more detail on the language aspect of the neurodivergent cosmology that I mention in the abstract. As the cosmology maps time, space and language as three major pillars of orientation, I would like to present stimming as a non-verbal means of communication of commonly marginalized individuals. The cosmology is itself not under threat but dwells at the margin of a society that has become increasingly hostile to neurodivergent individuals. I hope that this topic is still relevant for this conference as stimming is still hugely misunderstood while being a core element of neurodivergent culture(s) and employed by many individuals as a preferred way of engaging with the world around them. I wouldelaborate on my proposition that engaging with the world around us through stimming can be relevant in unexpected ways, I would e.g. talk about autistic hyper-empathy in relation to multi-species thinking, extractivism, and ecological crises.










Spatial and technical requirements :
If possible, it would be helpful for me to have a photograph of the conference room beforehand to prepare my presentation. If possible, it would be great if it could be a space in which people can get up easily and move a little bit next to their chair (no worries if not, then I´ll do a quick somatic breathing exercise). I would need a laptop and projector for the presentation.










Potential risks or ethical concerns:
None










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