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In July 2018, Arts Council England agreed to fund ‘Neither Use Nor Ornament’ known as NUNO to bring together two seemingly very different artist networks on a level playing field, with an ambitious group show and event programme. One group identified as autistic, the other group did not.

 

This project, which took nine months to deliver, was created by Sonia Boué to explore autistic leadership, and to help advance the careers of some of the autistic artists on the project.

 

Sonia wanted to test her project design, and to prove the autism positive mentoring model for autistic artists she had created in collaboration with arts professional colleagues, Miranda Millward and Sarah Mossop. The idea was that this innovative project would be of benefit to all participants by prioritising access.

 

As the project developed, access needs were allowed to alter project parameters significantly, and yet the team were able to deliver the project on time, with profound results for artists and excellent art.

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NUNO was the outcome of  Boué’s original ACE funded research and is a touchstone example of neuro-inclusive participatory practice, which feeds into Sonia's sector support work as a consultant and mentor. The project can be found on the NUNO site

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