ABOUT

Dr Kat Cope is a late diagnosed Autistic mixed-media performance artist and researcher from the United States. They hold a PhD from Burren College of Art and University of Galway (2025). 

Dr Cope explores the creation of costume, performance, and the embodiment of metaphorical armour as a means to process and transform unresolved complex trauma associated with lived experience, for neurodivergent persons. Utilising their personal experience as a late-diagnosed Autistic individual, they investigate how trauma alters one’s existence, mental health, and physical well-being. Through performance methodologies such as costume, breathing, and movement they hypothesize that trauma survivors can retrain their nervous systems to mitigate the perception of danger in non-threatening situations. The impact of complex trauma on mental health is elucidated through their research, revealing its capacity to induce feelings of worthlessness, shame, and emotional dysregulation, alongside physical manifestations that may predispose individuals to various health issues. Dr Cope employs performance as a vital tool for self-actualisation, utilising practices such as mindfulness meditation, grounding, and movement exercises to facilitate transformation. Transformation in this context translates to benefits through audience participation either large or small. Some benefits Dr Cope has experienced and which have been recorded by others are individual empowerment and reduced anxiety. Ultimately, their research contributes to the understanding of trauma through embodied practices, highlighting the potential for creative expression to foster resilience and recovery for neurodivergent persons.

Dr Cope lives in County Clare, Ireland and enjoys the protective nature of the Burren landscape, which also inspires themes in their work.