Making Songs, Spells and Mischief: Anne Robinson

*As places on this session are strictly limited, we would be grateful if you only booked a space if you definitely intend to come. If you reserve a spot and then are unable to join us on the day, please let us know as soon as possible.*

This session invites FDRG participants to explore practice-led methodologies and to collectively make a song. It draws on research by artist Anne Robinson into the Scottish ‘witch’ trials of the 17th century, known to be amongst the most brutal in the world. During archival investigations, Robinson found scrolls recording seven accused ‘witches’ in Ayrshire, as ‘not to be found’ - apparently fugitives. From these fragments, using speculative fictioning and experimenting with songs, film, and performance was formed a band, the Charmers, to tour and time-travel through queer history.

Format

This afternoon session will begin with a short introduction to The Charmers’ work with song-making as methodology: critical fabulation/ speculative writing from the archive and considering songs as spells.

We will then make a collective reading of brief selections from texts including:

• Jenni Fagan, Hex (2024)
• Carla Freccero, Queer Spectrality: Haunting the Past (2007)
• Saidiya Hartmann, Venus In Two Acts (2008)
• Anne Robinson, The Ballad of the Charmers (2025)

In the second and longer part of the afternoon, we will work together on collectively making a song - finding our voices in resistance through remembered songs along the way and end ending the day singing together.

Please note

Absolutely no prior experience of singing or songwriting is required and this will be a supportive environment!

You can reserve a free place here for ‘Making Songs, Spells and Mischief’ by emailing Helena Reckitt at feministduration@gmail.com. Places will be strictly limited so please only sign up if you are definitely planning to attend.

Bio

Anne Robinson is an artist who lives and works in east London. Their practice is interdisciplinary, often collaborative and concerned with the perception and politics of time passing, ‘queering’ technologies and working speculatively with archive material to listen to the past, working with: expanded/experimental film, sound, writing, and drawing. She has shown at: Beaconsfield, CCA Glasgow, Whitechapel, Fruitmarket, Southwark Park Galleries, and BFI, was a commissioned artists for ‘Queer Times’ at GoMA and was in ‘Women in Revolt!’ (2023-24) at Tate Britain with See Red Women’s Workshop. She hold a practice-led PhD from London Metropolitan University and has taught Fine Art/Film for many years. Web and Vimeo linksproject.org/news/.

Feminist Duration

‘Making Songs, Spells and Mischief’ is part of ‘Feminist Duration,’ the CHASE-funded PhD training programme organised by the Feminist Duration Reading Group.

Images: The Charmers Supernormal 25 (2025) Anne Robinson, digital print