How can art and culture become more neuroinclusive?
A two-year research project with neurodivergent participants
A cultural space is not experienced the same way by everyone. What is pleasant or unremarkable to one person may be unsettling, confusing, or inaccessible to another. This isn’t just about lighting, sound, or crowds, but also, for example, the way a space is designed and organized.
During the two-year project Neuroinclusion in the Arts and Cultural Sector, MaMA, Willem de Kooning Academy (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) and the Neurodiversity Foundation are exploring how arts and cultural spaces can better accommodate different needs and ways of thinking, sensing and processing. Neurodivergent participants decide which questions and themes take center stage and what we research, test and develop together with them.
The Neuroinclusive Co-Creation Lab
At the heart of the project is the Neuroinclusive Co-Creation Lab: a core group of eight neurodivergent people who will work on the project as co-researchers from September 2026 through September 2027. On October 1, we’ll launch the public program: our showroom will transform into a free, accessible space where you can step away from the busy Witte de Withstraat. This Resting Space will be open to visitors throughout the entire month.
What is pleasant or unremarkable to one person may be unsettling, confusing, or inaccessible to another.
Six participants in the Co-Creation Lab come from outside the professional arts and cultural sector, and two work within the sector. In this way, we deliberately include people for whom cultural institutions are not necessarily familiar places. During monthly meetings, the group contributes its own experiences and knowledge and helps determine which topics are explored. In addition, we are organizing five workshops open to a broader group of neurodivergent participants.
We’re not just looking at the physical space. Neuroinclusion, for example, is also about communication, social expectations, how visitors are welcomed and the ways cultural organizations develop their programs.
A temporary Resting Space on Witte de Withstraat
The Resting Space is a place where you can step away for a moment and unwind. At the same time, we’re exploring together with visitors what a resting space can be when there isn’t just one type of visitor.
We deliberately don’t call the space a “low-stimulus space.” We can’t guarantee that: people experience and process stimuli in different ways. What’s soothing for one person might actually be unpleasant for another. Some people need quiet and dim lighting, while others find calm in sound or movement. That’s why the design of the space isn’t fixed for the entire month. We’re experimenting with light, sound and the layout, among other things. Visitors can share what works for them, what doesn’t and what they feel is missing. Based on those experiences, we adjust the space every week. The goal isn’t to design the perfect resting space, but to learn how different needs can find a place within a single space.
Some people need quiet and dim lighting, while others find calm in sound or movement.
Visit the Resting Space
From October 1 through October 31, 2026, you can visit the Resting Space for free. Everyone is welcome. You don’t need to sign up, and you don’t need to explain why you want to use the space.
When: Wednesday through Saturday, 13:00 PM-5:00 PM
Where: MaMA, Witte de Withstraat 29-31, Rotterdam
Admission: Free, no registration required
You can simply use the space to rest and unwind. If you’d like to share your experience with us, you’re welcome to do so. What works for you? What doesn’t? And what do you feel is missing? We’ll use these experiences to further develop the space throughout the month.
What happens next?
The Resting Space is the first public experiment within the two-year project. We’re using the experiences from the Co-Creation Lab, the workshops and the experiments to better understand what neuroinclusion can mean in the day-to-day practice of arts and cultural organizations.
We’re not looking for a single solution or a checklist that works for everyone. People and their needs are simply too different for that. Instead, we’re exploring the choices organizations can make regarding their spaces, communication, programming and ways of working to take different needs into account. After two years, we’ll share the findings and practical recommendations with the arts and cultural sector and arts education, so that other organizations can continue working with the knowledge gained through the project.
Building on Cripping Cultural Work
Questions about accessibility have long been a focus at MaMA. In 2024 and 2025, we organized Cripping Cultural Work. In this program, Rotterdam-based cultural workers with disabilities or chronic illnesses explored how assumptions about bodies, health and accessibility play out in the cultural sector. We are incorporating the insights from Cripping Cultural Work into this project.
Questions about the project?
Please contact Felicitas Lenz, educator at MaMA and project lead on behalf of MaMA, at felicitas@thisismama.nl, or Florian Cramer, project lead on behalf of Willem de Kooning Academy, at j.j.f.cramer@hr.nl.
Neurodivergence is a broad term for people who process information and stimuli differently from what is socially considered the norm, such as autistic people and people with ADHD or dyslexia. There is no single neurodivergent profile. Experiences and needs can vary greatly.
Neuroinclusion in the Arts and Cultural Sector is a collaboration between MaMA, Willem de Kooning Academy (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) and the Neurodiversity Foundation.
The project is made possible thanks to funding from SIA Taskforce for Applied Research and the Cultural Participation Fund (Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie) through the Co-Creation and Cultural Participation grant program.