Carnival of Invention
2018
In June 2018, Charlotte Vincent delivered a practical discussion workshop as part of the first Carnival of Invention, hosted at the University of Brighton. The focus of the day was exploring creative and artistic approaches across many disciplines towards art and research for social action.
Charlotte’s session focused on the Art of Attachment.
Throughout 2018, funded by the Wellcome Trust, Charlotte worked with women and children at Brighton Oasis Project (BOP), a unique substance misuse treatment service in the heart of Brighton to develop the Art of Attachment project, culminating in a performance at the University of Sussex Attenborough Centre for Contemporary Arts on 18 October 2018. Art of Attachment explores the complex emotional bonds that exist between women in recovery from substance misuse and their children, partners, family and friends. Based on real-life testimonies and 9 months of workshopping ideas with the women at Oasis, the project embraces and explores the challenges women face and celebrates the everyday resilience of women and children overcoming adversity, whose stories demand to be seen and heard.
Charlotte workshopped and discussed her methodology, developed over 25 years hiking the horizontal between ‘community’ and ‘professional’ practice to make ‘brave, intelligent entertainment’ (The Times) for the complex times in which we live. With challenging subject matter at its core, this session offered insight into her creative process and the reasons for and results of her approach – which includes gathering real life testimonies and ‘staging’ conversations that then translate into material and visual/physical metaphors for live performance.