St Edward's Academic Review 2025

ACADEMIC REVIEW 2025

Dyslexic artists and the influence of external factors on the choice to study art Having assessed the impact of ‘nature’ on dyslexia – genetic linkages, frequency of the condition, and biological mechanisms – this section will assess the impact of ‘nurture’ (the environment and influences an individual is surrounded by) through analysing the choices that dyslexic students have made to study art and design. It will explore the external factors which may lead dyslexic individuals to study creative subjects at higher levels and understand whether they are over-represented in creative courses of study and, if so, why. It will also investigate the dyslexic influence on artists, both lesser-known contemporary artists and well-known and respected artists such as Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci. Dyslexic students are increasingly seen studying visual and creative art subjects in higher education, and whilst dyslexia may be associated with artistic talent and creative benefits, there may be other external factors which may affect a dyslexic student’s choice to study art. There are three key drivers in the choice to study art: influence of school and family, dyslexia as a strength, and having a passion for art (Bacon & Bennett, 2013). Bacon and Bennett assessed the decisions of 13 dyslexic students to study art. Eight of the students stated they had chosen to study art due to their strong talent and interest in the subject, however the others thought they weren’t good enough at more “academic” subjects and felt that their dyslexia had pushed them away from those subjects. Furthermore, all of the participants they interviewed spoke about how the attitudes of other people when they were younger, whether it be teachers,

‘impairments in one area can lead to advantages in other areas’. He goes on to argue that dyslexics show trends related to ‘out of the box thinking’ which can be advantageous in science, creative pursuits and, of course, art. Schneps pieces together evidence from a broad range of areas, pointing out that the potential benefit of dyslexia is broader than simply artistic creativity, that in fact, dyslexics are able to distribute their attention across a broader range of stimuli than non-dyslexics. This links compellingly with the fact that dyslexics are expert in connecting stimuli to create new ideas and concepts (Cancer, Monzoli, & Aontonetti, 2016). He proposes that this benefit also extends to the auditory setting, where dyslexics are able to receive information from more sources simultaneously than non-dyslexics. Whilst this may present challenges in terms of concentration power, it does allow dyslexics to expose themselves to a greater array of creative stimuli. The most exciting conceptual piece of research in the field was published by Taylor and Vestergaard in 2022. They introduce the concept that dyslexia is not a deficit or disorder, but instead an advantage which allows us to adapt and evolve as a species. They propose that humans demonstrate a ‘trade off between exploration and exploitation’, in that non-dyslexics specialise in the power of focus, enabling them to mine (exploit) a resource efficiently, whereas dyslexics specialise in ‘exploration’ enabling them to explore new fields, geographic areas, or concepts (artistic, scientific, mathematical etc). In this context, ‘explorative search’ can be thought of as being analogous to ‘creativity’. Therefore, they postulate that dyslexic individuals are experts in ‘explorative search’. Their concept aligns strongly with the research cited above by El Hmimmdi and Ward. 2022.

‘ Dyslexic students are increasingly seen studying visual and creative art subjects in higher education ’

7