PARTNERS
Kentro Meletis kai Diadosis Mython kai Paramythion, Greece
The Center for the Study and Dissemination of Myths and Folktales is a non-profit organization and is based in Kea Island (Cyclades-Greece). The “Centre” creates and arranges scientific, educational and artistic projects so as to support the dissemination of the tradition and cultural heritage. Some of its activities are:
- “Folktales Festival” in Kea island (Cyclades) takes place every year in July since 2003 and in 2011 will be the 9th edition. It is an international meeting where artists perform in locations around the island with natural and historical importance. Also, workshops and lectures are organized. The festival is supported by national and local authorities. Kea is a geographically disadvantaged island with less than 2500 habitants, many of which are immigrants, but the festival attracts visitors.
- “Myths and Tales without Borders” is a project that has started in 2009 and is presented in disadvantaged areas of Greece which have limited access to cultural and educational activities.
- “International Storytelling Festival” in Athens started in 2009 with the cooperation of central museums.
- “School of Storytelling Art” was established in 2008. Adult students attend the two-year long courses.
The “Center” delivers a range of educational programs and workshops that address adults with a diversity of backgrounds and of different age groups.
Center’s role will be to ensure effective communication between the project participants; to watch for deadlines to be met and tasks to be appropriately assigned and completed; to encourage and assist the participants in achieving the projects results.
It will include as many as possible trainees and students in the meetings and final products of the project and will share the Greek oral tradition (myths, legends, folktales) and will participate in the creation of multi-lingual storytelling performances. It will make known the project and its products to many local communities and organizations of Greece. It will organize and host the final meeting of the project during the “Folktales Festival” in Kea Island in July 2013. During this meeting the partners will evaluate the whole process of the project and present the results of the workshops. In addition, it will create a separate section on its website and edit a DVD and a book where all the results of the projects will be publicized.
Beyond The Border Wales International Storytelling Festival, Wales
Begun in 1993, Beyond The Border Wales International Storytelling Festival (BTB) is dedicated to promoting both excellence in and understanding of the performance art of storytelling, together with appreciation of the world’s oral traditions. This has been achieved through a varied programme of community projects and promotions taking place in locations throughout Wales and culminating in a large three–day international storytelling festival at St Donats Castle every two years.
The festival was born out of the desire to raise the status and increase understanding of storytelling as an artform suitable for all ages, not just children; to showcase performances by leading practitioners from Wales and the World involved in exploring the retelling of traditional stories for a contemporary audience; and to help develop and provide a platform for an emerging new generation of performance storytellers.
Through its community projects, BTB also reaches out to those who might not otherwise be able to attend the festival, taking storytelling into elderly people’s residential homes, prisons, hospitals and schools. As part of this work, BTB has particularly emphasised working in disadvantaged areas and across ethnic boundaries, and has been responsible for pioneering a series of intergenerational and reminiscence projects. BTB also undertakes storytelling training projects in schools and libraries throughout S Wales, encouraging both young people and adults to gain confidence in telling stories in public, and using traditional stories as a teaching resource.
BTB’s role in the project will be to share our experience of organising an international festival and providing adults with training in the field of storytelling; to increase our understanding of the work of our European partners; to contribute stories from the Welsh tradition to the pool of stories shared during the project; and to participate in the creation of multi-lingual storytelling performances.
Beyond The Border receives public funds from Local Government (The Vale of Glamorgan), The Arts Council of Wales, and Welsh Assembly Government, as well as support from private trusts and commercial sponsors.
Associazione Culturale “Raccontamiunastoria”, Rome, Italy
Raccontamiunastoria was founded in 2004 by Paola Balbi, Angela Sajeva and Giulia Troiano and counts now several professional storytellers, a group of storytellers in training and hundreds of amateurs.
The aim of Raccontamiunastoria is to promote the art of oral Storytelling in Italy and the Italian storytelling repertoire and tradition abroad through performances, workshops, school projects, storytelling concerts and the annual International Storytelling Festival in Roma.
The first project was “Maria, Storia di tre donne”, a storytelling show based on the biblical legend of the three Maries, first performed in Rome, and subsequently throughout Italy and abroad.
In 2005 the Company collaborated with the association La Farfalla, which is committed to helping people with disabilities and produced its second show “Streghe” (Witches). For this production the group cooperated with the English music duo Pangenesis.
July 2007 saw the opening of the new production “Pirate women” in Genoa, as a featured presentation at The Tall Ship Race, international sailing festival for square riggers ships. This bilingual show (Italian and English) was originally sponsored by Sail Training Association Italia.
Since 2005 we run a monthly open floor in Rome and is involved in the organizations of storytelling workshops for schools, theatres and charities, alongside with running a permanent professional development project for young storytellers.
Our artists take part to International storytelling Festivals all over Europe and America on a regular base.
In 2009 we engaged in the production of ”Sisters from the Book”, a retelling of the less known female stories from the Bible, in a view of an intercultural and interreligious artistic dialogue between Christians traditions of all denominations, Jewish and Muslim sacred stories.
We have also been praised for its collaboration with museums, bookstores, libraries and Italian Cultural Centres in Italy and abroad and for its commitment in bringing back to life the forgotten oral patrimony of Italian traditional stories.
From 2009 we run in Rome the first Italian International Storytelling Festival in the prestigious setting of the “Parco Regionale Appia Antica” (Appian Park).
Raccontamiunastoria’s role will be to host the first meeting of the project; to organize the first workshop between the partners and involve many local people; to share Italian traditional stories; to participate in the creation of multi-lingual performance.
Stowarzyszenie “Grupa Studnia O.”, Warsaw, Poland
The Group Well O. Storytellers Association is a pioneering group of storytellers in Poland, formed in 1997 in Warsaw. It regards the art of storytelling as instrumental to understanding other cultures and draws on many narrative traditions and techniques in its storytelling practice,giving them a contemporary twist. It treats the art of storytelling as an individual’s artistic work and connects it with the extensive animation and education activity. The Association conducted many educational and artistic projects, including storytelling workshops for students, museum employees, librarians and teachers, and elderly people at the Third Age University in Warsaw. Part of its work is focused on the physically and mentally disabled people, for the members of the Association of Families and Friends of People with Intellectual Disabilities. The group has also published its own book, “Przyjemności opowiadania” (The Delights of Storytelling) in 2006. It organizes the annual International Festival of Storytelling Practices in Warsaw since 2006. Its 5 editions were very successful; the performances were watched by over 10 000 people. The idea of the festival is to present the art of storytelling in both traditional and contemporary perspective, to present the diversity of contemporary sources of storytelling and the diversity of contemporary culture where a story plays a significant artistic, animation and integrative part. Partners of the festival include Warsaw City Hall, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Institute of Polish Culture, Warsaw University. Group Well O. consists of 7 people, among whom there are speakers of Polish, English, French, Lithuanian, and Turkish.
In the project “My Traditional Heritage, Our Stories” Group Studnia O. will contribute with repertoire of the Slavonic and Turkish oral tradition. As one of its members, Agnieszka Aysen Kaim, a storyteller – Orientalist is a translator of Turkish origin. Bringing trainees into the multicultural environment will help the old generations of Polish people, used to living in a homogenised society, to cope with the ethnicity of contemporary Poland. Sharing the stories of old generation with youngsters will give the chance to re-tell the old stories in a new manner. This project within its Turkish cultural involvement partly helps the initiative of deconstructing stereotypes of the context of the Greek-Turkish relations.
Fabula Storytelling Ekonomisk Förening, Stockholm, Sweden
Fabula was founded in 2005 by four professional storytellers, all with experiences as performers and educators in this field. We have two employees in our staff and our office is situated in central Stockholm. Fabula produces programs of oral storytelling for young and adults and perform on all sorts of stages, schools, theatres and festivals all over Sweden, but also touring internationally with approximately ten countries each year. We also educate people of all ages and in different occupations how to perform and use storytelling in for instance education. Fabula also runs larger projects in educations, and are running a stage and an international storytelling festival in Stockholm. We have played a central role in the development of storytelling and its organizations in Scandinavia, having started: 1) the local Stockholm organization for storytelling with now 150 members, 2) The Swedish national network “Berattarnatet Sverige” with now 25 member-organizations and in all 800 individual storytellers from all over the country, 3) The Nordic cooperation – organization for “Storytelling Slam” connecting the organizations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, 4) Initiating the “Federation for European Storytelling”. Fabula have often been hired as consultants and advisors by different organizations like for instance: Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio broadcasting), Riksutsällningar (National org for exhibitions), have often been hired as consultants and advisors by different organizations.
Fabula Storytelling will be responsible for organizing a workshop on May 2012 with our trainers and partners that will focus on the multilingual storytelling and the use of body and space in storytelling. On October 2012 we organize the Fabula International Storytelling Festival which will be visited by the partners. During the festival we will host workshops where the participants will exchange their traditional stories. Our contribution will be the Nordic mythology and legends.
izyspolska
