“Thresholds” Explores The Intersection of Art, Science and Neurodiversity” 

On June 2, the Parkway Theatre will host a special evening focusing on the neurodiverse community.

Thresholds: Art, Science & Neurodiversity is described as “an evening of film, performance, and dialogue exploring the diversity of sensory processing through the lenses of art and science.”

The program will feature two short films and a live performance by Michael Wolfe, a Twin Cities-based LGBTQ+ performance artist who has autism. He will be “offering insight into his daily life and inner world.”

Wolfe will be among the feature many guests of this program. Neuroscientist Guadalupe Astorga will talk about her research on the neurodiversity of visual perception. Both Wolfe and Astorga will share insights about their unique processes.

Beth Graczyk, the director and producer of this project, explained that it “came out of the desire to continue in a way that we could during the pandemic. And Michael and I really connected with how he worked with material in “Hear Them Now,” that project. We started a conversation around doing a film project together, and actually it was originally thinking of live performance, but because of the limitations of the pandemic, we started to conceive of other ways of sharing and a film became the pressing media to express.”

Graczyk further explained that “simultaneously, I was having conversations with Guadalupe Astorga, who’s a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University, where I do science research as well, and we were having conversations around neurodiversity, around digital content, about being overstimulated during the pandemic, but also in general, and feeling overwhelmed by all the information that we receive and not knowing how to process it. And then of course, being detached more and more from being with physical bodies and being able to be with each other. We developed a project that was around her research on visual perception and neurodiversity.”

The focal point of this program is on Wolfe and the film created with Graczyk. He explained that “most people have to deal with two prejudices, but I’m the one who has to deal with three prejudices, the prejudice of being Black, [along with] the prejudice of being a gay man. I knew that I was a man who was attracted to other men for quite some time, ever since the sixth grade.”

“Then, the third prejudice that I’ve had to deal with within my lifetime is I have to deal with the prejudice of being autistic,” Wolfe further explained. “I have to deal with the prejudice of being on the mental disability spectrum. Those are three prejudices that I’ve had to deal with throughout my life. The work that we are doing together does not mention neurodiversity by name. It does not mention being queer by name. The work that we’re doing together is an expression of who I am as [a] person.”

In essence, as Graczky explained, the program is designed “to bring dialogue with that research to the neuroscience of visual perception, to a dialogue with embodied neurodiversity.” That, along with the discussion about the three prejudices Wolfe mentioned. Graczyk reflected that “Michael’s so much fun to work with, and he’s incredibly creative and talented. And so right away, we realized there was just so much content to build on and to create from, that very few prompts that I gave Michael, he was able to generate a lot of interesting material on his cosplay world and his love of bike riding, and even our feature film, which is a short film, is really just him waiting for the bus. But he has this incredible capacity to articulate his inner experience, and that was really clear. We developed the work from really Michael’s interests and his talent.”

What should we expect from this evening? “Hopefully my desire is that we will reach people that will have them feel like they can participate in a conversation that is in intersection of queerness, is an intersection of disability,” explained Graczyk.  “Knowing that we’re not looking for answers, we’re not looking for more definitions, but we’re looking for feeling more the breadth of the community. And so that’s why there’s a Q&A, we want to have people come and feel free to interact with us.”

Consider this your invitation to join in this conversation with Wolfe and Astroga, along with watching this film. Perhaps, this conversation will continue after this program at the Parkway Theatre on June 2.

Thresholds: Art, Science & Neurodiversity 
June 2 – 6:30 PM
Parkway Theatre, 4814 Chicago Ave. S, Minneapolis
$10 Advance General Admission, $17 At The Door
www.theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/thresholds