Storyloom: Collaboration— a storyteller's summit

This is an intergenerational space — kids are welcome and we will have a few folks hosting a creative play space for young kids too.

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focus/theme: Collaboration

What is it?

A one day summit for storytellers to come together to create, co-learn, cross-pollinate our dreams and knowings, and weave our stories together.

Throughout the day, we will explore:

Co-creation and collaboration

• Provide opportunities to learn from each other — sharing ideas and discussion questions to explore the breadth of stories that exist within all of us, and heartstorm ways to tell them.

Practical Workshops and Skills-sharing

• The workshops or creative “stations” will be led by storytellers from a range of backgrounds and artistic practices, and will be shaped together by those who are participating (you!).

Solidarity and Grounding in our collective futures

• Overall, we’d like to reflect on the emerging landscape of storytelling: what tools do we already have? can we create with them? can we adapt them?

• These are some of the questions to prompt us to explore how we can tell our stories more often
• We will aim to support each other to notice and acknowledge the subtle and sometimes insurmountable obstacles that can thwart our voices from emerging, and ultimately our creativity. Perhaps exposing some of the causes that ignite painful insecurities within each of us, but also the ones that swarm amidst our collectives — preventing many of us from identifying as storytellers or artists.
• With you all, we want to envision and grow futures where ALL our stories continue to inspire and connect us more.

Worlding

"it matters what stories make worlds, and what worlds make stories.” Donna Haraway

• To engage in worlding is to co-create new worlds. So, how does storytelling do this work? To us, storytelling is a powerful thread that runs through histories and all liveways. We have always told and shared stories,in part as a source of inspiration for composting and composing worlds, and in part for cultivating deeper connections.

We encourage all kinds of storytelling and honour our difference in learning and creating, whether it’s through “solo”, collaborative, or parallel creation, or a mix of them all, we welcome it!

At the Storyloom Summit we want to deepen what storytelling is and can be, while also expanding on the who and the what creates story!

To us, a central purpose of art is to tell stories.

On the theme:

Focusing on collaboration acknowledges the notion that we are always co-creating with each other — including with our more-than-human kin and ancestors — because nothing is done in silo, we are always in communion, translating our worlds with and for each other.

When we co-create and co-learn in person, we are engaging in sharing our experiences, concepts, and ideas, and then supporting each other to transform these into pictures, objects, sounds, or words. When we tell stories together with our various crafts, we are communicating meaning as we compose new worlds — animating our abstractions while creating magic and beauty.

AND having fun!

To us, this is what translating our worlds into story can look like — deepening into collaboration we ground our storytelling practice in imagining grounded futures, where both radical story and emerging knowledges begin to bloom in unforeseen and beautiful ways.

Who is it for?

• Anyone who creates stories!
• We welcome all artists/storytellers no matter the medium or form or technique, these can include but are not limited to: words, visual arts, textile arts, sound arts, and everything in between!
• Whether you’re emerging or professional, or somewhere else on the continuum you are welcome!
• We encourage all ages to participate

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Venue Info and Accessibility

• venue and washrooms are wheelchair accessible
• washrooms are gender neutral

More info to come about parking and bus routes etc. — and please feel free to reach out if there is anything we can do to better support your participation at the event!

A gluten-free, vegetarian lunch will be provided, but if you have any further dietary needs, please reach out and let us know.

Host or Publisher Grounded Futures