contact details
email: c.hackett@rgu.ac.uk
tel: 00 44 (0)1224 263622

web site:
Storm Project
Cookbook Project
Our Story Scotland
Arts in Society

CHARLIE HACKETT

Biographical Statement
Charlie Hackett was educated in Ireland and studied Textiles at the Royal College of Art where he gained his MA RCA. Charlie lectured at Glasgow School of Art from 1990 -1995 where he became involved in community art projects working with the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow (GOMA), the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, and the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Glasgow. He also worked for Glasgow Association for Mental Health as an advocate doing life story work. Charlie has been a researcher and lecturer at Grays School of Art since 2000.

Charlie was commissioned by GOMA to work on the highly influential "Sanctuary" Contemporary Art and Human Rights' Project (2002-2003) funded by Amnesty International, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Scottish Refugee Council. In these projects he worked with asylum seekers, refugees and those displaced from their homelands. The outreach visual arts projects were nominated for the Gulbenkin award.

Charlie has contributed to important research conferences on art and social engagement, social sciences and public health for example, "Discourse Power Resistance", and the "Arts In Society Conference, Common Ground" part of Documenta 2007 Kassel, Germany. Presentation and workshop Identity and Borders since 9/11"

Charlie has a joint published journal article (2009) with Dr Maryisa Zalewski et all "International Feminist Journal of Politics", published by Routledge, Taylor, Francis, Group. "Crafting Future-Present-Past"

Personal Statement
I work in perceived marginal spaces with constituent groups - immigrants, refugees, and urban youth - to define new forms of public engagement through art. Over the last few years my work has been directed towards using arts practice and processes to describe human feelings that perhaps cannot be described through quantitative research or other research methodology. My practice takes place in the open environment away from the gallery with the majority of work being social and investigating peoples lives. The projects look at all groups of society working alongside minority groups.

The work at present is directed towards public health and addiction working collaboratively with public health specialists and human geographers using Psychogeography as a research method.

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