Moving Words Artist in Residence – Announced!
Annie Johnson has joined us on an Artist in Residence programme through SGSAH - the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities. Through ‘Moving Words’, Annie is connecting with our programme and responding in creative writing to the dance and dancers she is encountering.
Annie Johnson is a writer and researcher based in Scotland. Currently pursuing a Doctorate of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, both her research and practice tend toward the strange, with a particular focus on processional ritual, effervescence, folk customs and the body. Her poetry has been published in the UK, USA and Asia and her debut novel in progress was award the North Lit Agency Prize 2025.
Annie joined The Work Room in February on this SGSAH funded Artist in Residence. The programme supports PhD researchers to spend up to three months at a partner host organisation, enabling research skills to be developed in a wide variety of contexts. The Moving Words Artist in Residence continues The Work Room’s academic partnerships and commitment to practice research.
The creative residency at The Work Room has been a wonderful, creatively nurturing experience. Not only has the position offered valuable financial support while I develop my creative practice, observing and working alongside TWR staff and members has pushed me to expand and reconsider new forms and experiences. So much of my research circulates notions of ecstatic experience and community, and it was a real joy to be welcomed into a warm, dynamic environment which supports artists and fosters genuine connection between people and craft. For me, writing can often feel like a very internalised, ‘heady’ experience. Being invited to move, stretch through and ‘embody’ the creative process has enriched my own practice. My time at TWR has brought another facet to my scholarly research, allowing me to consider readings of anthropology and ritual/religious studies under the lens of performance and dramaturgy. Being able to explore the relationship between dance and ritual in situ, amongst skilled performers who each bring their own essence and perspective to movement has allowed me to expand and review my own academic perspective and led me toward more dynamic, interdisciplinary modes of expression.