Around the World in 88 Tales - Storyelling inspired by museum objects at RAMM
What makes the cracked pot so beautiful? How come the owl was a baker’s daughter? Just how hungry can an enchanted canoe get?
Storytelling without Limits
Sharing folk tales is a tradition that stretches back to our earliest ancestors and still holds relevance in our lives today.
The stories we tell and hear make us who we are.
This Arts Council England-funded project in partnership with RAMM, exetreme imagination, Devon Development Education, Exeter Historic Buildings Trust, Literature Works and Exeter City of Literature, offered people in Exeter and globally a chance to participate in live intercultural exchanges around the world and to perceive each other and themselves as creative story sharers. People from diverse heritages and circumstances were brought together, improving wellbeing, reducing loneliness and building a new inclusive, creative intercultural online community of story sharers.
Many tellers and listeners are using English as an additional language and find live storytelling easier to engage with than other kinds of spoken discourse. This is because of the interpersonal nature of storytelling and the universal and familiar structure of folk tales. Family and adult visitors had the opportunity to interpret RAMM artefacts in new creative ways and to respond by sharing stories.
44 storytelling encounters between David Heathfield and adult story sharers from diverse regions and heritages around the world were streamed live on the RAMM Facebook page. Each story told was inspired by a RAMM artefact.
The 44 amazing storytellers who joined David from around the world are: Cora Teske in Germany, Amna Burki in Canada, Tere Continanza in Argentina, Jackie Ross in Scotland, Hend Qattaa in Palestine, Rasheedat Sadiq in Nigeria, Alan Hall in Ireland, Domi Rai in UK/Slovakia, Sanja Raskovic in Croatia, Simona Stambazzi in Italy, Jean Hale in the USA, Polina Tšerkassova in Estonia, Kiran Shah in Australia, Irshad Barkat in Pakistan, Zahra Afsah in Iran/UK, Belen Rodriguez in Spain, Laura Ballesio in Italy, Norman Perrin in Canada, John Row in England, Priyanka Chatterjee in India, Maria Papanikolaou in Greece, Aleydis Delforge in Belgium, Suheda Sahin in Turkey, Wangari Grace in Kenya, Sikha Gurung in Nepal, Ahn Sook Kim in South Korea, Swee Yean Wong in Singapore, Vera Cabrera Duarte in Brazil, Letty Segura in Mexico, Baba-C in the USA, Zouhair Khaznaoui in Morocco, Laxman Gnawali in Nepal, Sachi Fukuyama in Japan, Harry Kuchah Kuchah in UK/Cameroon, Muhammed Jawhar Yasin in the Kurdistan autonomous region of Iraq, Raouf Mama in Benin, Mindy Neo in Singapore, Philippa Namutebi Kabali-Kagwa in South Africa/Uganda, Glenda Gallardo in Peru, Alla Goeksu in Germany/Ukraine, Giorgiana Elena Popan in Romania, Alexandra Guzik in Russia, Eirian Conlon in Wales and Svend-Erik Engh in Scotland/Denmark.
The Stories Go On…
In a series of live, digital and physical events, David shared stories inspired by RAMM objects, with storytellers from Italy to Palestine, Singapore to Peru and many, many more locations. The live events took place mostly at RAMM and also St Nicholas Priory, Exeter Central Library and Crediton Arts Centre.
Experience the magic in your own time by watching the YouTube Playlist and interact directly with David and his global companions through the comments!
You can read David’s official Project Report here, and also listen to him discussing the project on the brand new global storytelling podcast series A Cornucopia of Tales and Tellers.
Get Involved
Inspired by RAMM’s famous giraffe? Intrigued by the story behind the Aleut parka? Mesmerised by their meteorite?
If you’ve got a story bubbling up inside you, it’s time to let it out. Record yourself (audio only) telling a story inspired by one of the objects from the project on the Tell Your Stories Padlet to share it with the world.
About David Heathfield
David Heathfield spends his whole life in pursuit of wonderful new tales, learned from generous story sharers all over the World. He’s the author of the books Storytelling with our Students and Spontaneous Speaking (Delta) and the chapters Storytelling for a Better World and Storytelling for Diverse Voices (British Council).
“David is wonderful storyteller whose imagination, energy and storytelling skills had both adults and children utterly mesmerized.” – Amy Baldry, Teacher, Ilfracombe
