Cultural Fringe

 

For our first ever Congress Cultural Fringe we have put together a jam-packed programme of activities to make you laugh, get you moving and get you thinking - all from the comfort of your home. Explore the full programme below.

 

  • Take the opportunity to have a break from the conference and virtual platform to spend time outdoors. Allow yourself time and permission to enjoy the simplicity of tuning in to yourself and your surroundings while strolling mindfully. In preparation for this you will be provided with an audio link lasting 5-7 minutes to support you in making the transition from conference mode to mindfulness walking. The pace of walking is slow to encourage reflection and observation. Walk from your front door and if at all possible find some local green space or somewhere you can be in touch with nature.  The walk should last around 20-30 minutes.  

  • Join us for a very interactive comedy show hosted by TV’s own James Gill, Rachel Parris and Marcus Brigstocke. Packed with sketches, chat, games, music and a Lip Sync Battle where you get to vote for the winner, there will even be a virtual front row - get ready for a show where there's something for everyone.

     

  • CURED illuminates a pivotal yet largely unknown chapter in the history of psychiatry and the struggle for LGBTQ equality: the campaign that led the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Before this momentous 1973 decision, the medical establishment viewed every gay and lesbian person as diseased and in need of a cure. As long as lesbians and gay men were “sick,” progress toward equality was nearly impossible.

    While this award-winning documentary is indisputably about science, medicine, and politics, at its core this is a film about social change. The activists’ ingenuity brought about a shift that transformed not only LGBTQ people’s perceptions of themselves, but also the field of psychiatry and the social fabric of America.

    Watch CURED anytime between 16 and 22 June and join the filmmakers, Bennett Singer and Patrick Sammon, on 21 June in conversation with Rainbow SIG Chair Dr Maire Cooney and Dr Josep Vilanova, which includes screening of clips from the film.

    View the CURED website

  • Salsa is a sociable and energetic dance style. This live session will be a great way to start learning, unwind and enjoy the music and movement. You will be introduced to essential Salsa steps and moves in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.

    Your session will be lead by City Academy tutors Sarah Rowe and Dani K. Dani K, is the founder and director of ALCADANZ and also an award winner for Best UK Salsa performer. Sarah currently represents Otradanz at a national and international level and has taught and performed at the One Dance Latin festival, Marrakech Salsa congress and the Berlin Salsa Congress to name a few.

    You will start with the basics and slowly building your steps and transitions into more complex combinations. Time to get your dancing shoes on, practice your new moves and add your own personal flair.

  • This session will comprise of 3 separate talks exploring neurodevelopmental issues and the lives of 3 different artists who had a major impact on 20th century music and literature.

    Speakers include:

    • Dr Carsen Vogt, Berkshire (Chair)
    • Dr Uttom Chowdhury, Bedfordshire 
    • Professor Samuel Stein, London
    • Dr Jennifer Stein, Cornwall
    Oliver Sacks, wrote about a jazz drummer who used his tics to improvise when playing drums. The talk will focus on 'Witty Ticcy Ray' and his remarkable life and will bring together Sack's other stories of people with Tourettes.

    Thelonius Monk, widely regarded as a jazz composer of uncompromising creativity, had a “cryptic personality”, as well as unusual tics and habits. The talk will analyse in more detail his unique piano playing style with reference to neurology and psychiatry.

    James Baldwin - a writer and thinker who straddled his own struggle with racism and homophobia through his public rejection of difference. A boy from Harlem who attracted celebrities and politicians, but who became overwhelmed by his own success. We will look at his, and others’ experience of hitting a glass ceiling, common in high functioning ASD.

  • A mulitfactorial integrated system, yoga was originally designed to calm the agitated mind by balancing the mental and physical processes while promoting health behaviours.   In this experiential session we will explore yoga practices, describing them in a modern context that elucidates their influence on physiology and psychology, in a manner that is conducive to improved emotional health.

  • This session aims to showcase personal stories, self-care and allyship in the workplace. Looking at how we can ensure we maintain our wellbeing, how people have overcome experiences in the workplace and what we can do to support our colleagues. 
  • Take the opportunity to have a break from the conference and virtual platform to spend time outdoors. Allow yourself time and permission to enjoy the simplicity of tuning in to yourself and your surroundings while strolling mindfully. In preparation for this you will be provided with an audio link lasting 5-7 minutes to support you in making the transition from conference mode to mindfulness walking. The pace of walking is slow to encourage reflection and observation. Walk from your front door and if at all possible find some local green space or somewhere you can be in touch with nature.  The walk should last around 20-30 minutes.  
  • A mulitfactorial integrated system, yoga was originally designed to calm the agitated mind by balancing the mental and physical processes while promoting health behaviours. In this experiential session we will explore yoga practices, describing them in a modern context that elucidates their influence on physiology and psychology, in a manner that is conducive to improved emotional health.

  • The Turtle Song project is a singing and song writing initiative for people living with dementia and for their carers and companions. It is a partnership project between Turtle Key Arts, Royal College of Music and English Touring Opera and has been running since 2008. 

    The session will be an interactive introduction to the way that we co-create songs with people living with dementia.  Working with a professional composer and workshop director, it will illustrate the ability of creativity and music to enhance the quality of life for everyone and will be an uplifting and joyous start to the day.  

    Testimonial from a participant living with dementia: “It’s a friendly, fun and creative experience that’s inclusive and not in the least bit condescending."

    Visit the Turtle Key Arts website

  • Take the opportunity to have a break from the conference and virtual platform to spend time outdoors. Allow yourself time and permission to enjoy the simplicity of tuning in to yourself and your surroundings while strolling mindfully. In preparation for this you will be provided with an audio link lasting 5-7 minutes to support you in making the transition from conference mode to mindfulness walking. The pace of walking is slow to encourage reflection and observation. Walk from your front door and if at all possible find some local green space or somewhere you can be in touch with nature.  The walk should last around 20-30 minutes.  

  • Come and join us for a lively and interactive virtual wine tasting when we finally start planning to host our friends again.  

    During the session, wine host Fabio will introduce two gastronomic wines that are bound to impress your guests this summer! 

    Please see below the two wines which will need to purchased in advance of the session (Both wines are available through Waitrose and can be purchased in-store or online) :

    1. Cave de Turckheim Crémant d'Alsace NV [Sparkling Wine, France] 

    Current Price: £13.49 

    2.  Altano Organic Douro Red 2019 [Red Wine, Portugal] 

    Current Price: £10.99 

    Please also see this PDF presentation for further details on each wine plus recommended food pairings, including vegan options. 

    Please note that spaces for this event are limited and are on a first come, first served basis.

  • Vinny Peculiar

    ‘Vinny Peculiar songs make you laugh and cry and think all at the same time’  

    Tom Robinson BBC 6Music 

    Rolling Stone Magazine said…‘Vinny’s kitchen sink confessional style of writing is often described as quintessentially English – ‘homespun tunesmithery in the Robyn Hitchcock/Martin Newell vain –wry nostalgia, witty wordplay.

    While not performing or recording albums Vinny can be found doing music workshops aimed at aiding recovery with Tonic Music for Mental Health. 

    In this IC Fringe session Vinny’s music performance is introduced by Dr John Barnes with whom Vinny has collaborated on participation projects with Johns patients in Somerset and conference workshops for medical students and rehab faculty. John will give an entertaining presentation of a toolkit on how and why psychiatrists should collaborate with artists and musicians. 

     

  • In this session Professor Femi Oyebode will read from poetry written by people who have a history of psychiatric illness including Elizabeth Jennings, Robert Lowell, Ivor Gurney, Anne Sexton, and others. 

    The aim is to illustrate the themes and concerns that emotional disquiet

  • The Royal College of Psychiatrists are delighted to introduce this specially commissioned performance by rising talent, classical trio, Undercroft.

    The Undercroft Trio have been playing together since their first year of undergraduate study at Trinity Laban. Taking the works of Beethoven as a cornerstone for their chamber playing, they have since branched out to cover all genres of music, from jazz to contemporary.

    The Undercroft Trio

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Recital programme 

    • Piano Trio No. 1 in C Minor Op. 8 - Dmitri Shostakovich  
    • Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor Op. 63 - Robert Schumann 

    Since they formed, they have had a multitude of performance opportunities including two recitals at Wigmore Hall, and concerts around the home counties. Whilst studying, they won the Carne Trust Chamber Award, granting them exclusive masterclasses with the Linos Trio and members of the Carducci Quartet. They went on to become finalists for the Intercollegiate Piano Trio Competition at Chetham's School in Manchester, and were joint winners of the Carne Trust Chamber Competition 2020.

  • This dance session will involve about twenty participants, ranging in age from sixteen through twenty-five, including college and post-graduation students of the department of dramatic Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, Nigeria. 

    Participating in the dance workshop demonstrated the mental and emotional benefits of dance. Some of the benefits of dance on our general wellbeing includes: increased mental stamina and memory, increased self-confidence, joyful self-expression, emotional exploration, setting and attaining goals and taking on new challenges. 

    Mental Health Support Initiative in conjunction with the Department of Dramatic Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, Nigeria, presents “How Dance affects our Mental and Emotional Health”… We hope participants will appreciate our performance.   
  • The Conspiracy Clinic is a podcast focusing on one of the most controversial sequelae of COVID 19 - conspiracy theories. We will share the most thrilling to the most bizarre and explore how they have impacted upon us during the pandemic. How did these theories originate? What drives the paranoia in society? How does fake news affect mental health? We explore these issues and more. Join us if you are keen to find out how the vaccine is monitoring you, how Bill Gates created COVID 19, and all about the secret world of the lizard people.
  • Take the opportunity to have a break from the conference and virtual platform to spend time outdoors. Allow yourself time and permission to enjoy the simplicity of tuning in to yourself and your surroundings while strolling mindfully. In preparation for this you will be provided with an audio link lasting 5-7 minutes to support you in making the transition from conference mode to mindfulness walking. The pace of walking is slow to encourage reflection and observation. Walk from your front door and if at all possible find some local green space or somewhere you can be in touch with nature.  The walk should last around 20-30 minutes.