You're listening to the I am a Storyteller podcast from Inspire Culture Learning and Libraries. This podcast is hosted by Annie Warren. During the series, Annie talks to a storyteller or storytellers from the project and also members of the Inspire team in a bid to share valuable insights and learning gained from the project. Hello and welcome to episode five, the final episode of the I Am a Storyteller podcast. I'm your host, Annie Warren, and today I'll be talking to members of Inspire's Libraries and Culture Team who worked on the project. Michelle is Libraries and Cultures Officer, and Lucie is a librarian. Welcome to the podcast, Michelle and Lucie. Hi, Lovely to have you here. I'm really excited to talk about this project with you because I mean, obviously, we've had this is the third iteration of the project now. So it's been all the way through from I am a writer, then I am an artist, and now we're on season three, I am a storyteller. So I'm interested to know from you guys how you feel the project has changed kind of from its inception until now. Yeah, yeah, how it's evolved. Yeah, it's been really, it's been really interesting actually, because that first year with I'm a writer, yes, we had our basic plan like in place, but it was also very much during that year, like developing and honing things. And then once we got the process right, we then take it to I am an artist and then now to I'm a storyteller. It's almost become because we got that process and the chance to like hone it. Each one is very different, but the processes behind it, it's very honed. So that gives us a bit more freedom to concentrate on the creativity and the relationship, et cetera. So yeah, that's been really nice. It's become more of a well oiled machine as like all the admin bits get pinned out to basically. Definitely. Yeah, and also with the groups because we've had similar groups for each one so it's been really nice to revisit some of those and have them work with the storytellers and the writers. That's been really lovely. Like across the different art forms. That's been really nice. It's been lovely Yeah, so you've had so there's kind of a relationship created with some of the groups that have been participating in the workshop. Definitely, and then they like, I know a couple of them have worked again with the writer and have asked for the contact details for the artists and the storytellers to like do projects again as well, like away from us. So that's, it's just nice isn't it to know that you're making those connections and networking behind the scenes as well, it's lovely. That's so great. It sounds like it's become again across like the I Am A project, it just sounds like it's becoming more established and yeah, more of like an entity in the world, which is so nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's it's really nice to have the opportunity to do a project over a number of years and like, with, you know, big changes because the different art forms, but the same approach each year. It's definitely some benefits to that. Yeah, definitely. And so on that point, Michelle that you were talking about, I wonder if we could talk a little bit about the recruitment process for the storytellers, because obviously again, that recruitment process is something that has happened three times now across each project. So was this one different, the same? No, we've used the same approach because the approach has worked really well. We've made sure we've got the accessible brief, et cetera. But all those things by the time we get to this one, they've been developed and nailed down. So that's good. And despite it being the same process, the recruitment experience has also been really different because recruiting storytellers is...It's different to recruiting artists and it's different to recruiting writers and what you're looking at, what you're looking for in each of those. So yeah, that's been interesting. Great. And can you talk to us a bit about the audiences for the project? So specifically targeting communities who might be easy to exclude from the arts. how did you go about that and did you find that easy or difficult? All of our storytellers did public sessions in the libraries as well over October and February half term. So they were like aimed at families. And that's quite a good way because we have different levels of libraries in Inspire and obviously our larger ones get quite a lot of program because they're big, they've got all the rooms. But with this project, we work with quite a lot of the smaller libraries, we? Even some like CPLs like in Collingham. The Community Partnership Library. So it's really, so that was quite a good way to get like audiences that may not come into their central libraries, we can like go out straight into the communities and work with those and give them the access to the arts that way and then encourage them hopefully to come in to the big libraries to see exhibitions and things. Yeah, and I think there's such a benefit of hosting creative projects and artistic projects in libraries because like Lucie said, we're targeting specific areas of lower arts engagement, but the libraries are really trusted space in those communities. So it's a place where you can feel confident to try something a bit different than like Lucie says, and then hopefully that interest is then sparked and they work with us or enjoy other arts and culture. Yeah, that makes so much sense because of course the bigger events will of course happen at bigger libraries just literally from a matter of space. But then that's so nice that you're able to go into smaller spaces as well. And like you say, they're such I feel like libraries are such valuable community spaces because it's so like it's so rare the these days that you can have a place that you can go as a family, often for free and be in the warm and you know, usually you have to pay to wherever you want to be. So it's it's such a yeah, such a valuable resource. And like you said, really safe to try something a bit new. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and I think because the groups were quite small in the smaller libraries, really could, like the storytellers could really target who were in the groups. Like I went to a few to staff and obviously they were going with a plan of the day, but then when they saw who came into their sessions, they like changed it, maybe what had a different game here and really build off of what those children wanted to do, which isn't, it's lovely, isn't it? Because that's allowing them to express their creativity the way that they want to with a professional storyteller. It's really nice. And what an amazing benefit of having a smaller group as well. Like that it's really lovely. Yeah, I feel like all the kids made friends as well. That was really lovely. They would start off all sat with their family groups and by the end they're making these big stories together, sharing props. Yeah, it was really lovely to see. It was really nice. And it was really, really nice because like with Storyteller, we did public workshops in November and then again in February. it's kind of that gave the storytellers a chance to like kind of shape what they do, like to, you know, relax into the fact that you may need to adapt things on the day. so, yeah, it was nice. It was nice to see that and having that progression. Yeah, that's really lovely. Like and so when did the targeted workshops happen? Was that kind of in between the public workshops or? The targeted sessions, they took place before. at the beginning. that was some of them. We had a bit of a mix. Some, I think Lucie has referred to this before, that some of the groups have been with us on this IAM journey. But then we also introduced new groups as well. So that has been really nice to see the difference in people we're starting to build new relationships with. But the author relationship is developing as we go through each phase. That's really lovely. I feel like it's like a it's almost like a snowball effect, isn't it? Because it starts off when I remember when we started on I'm a writer and we didn't have those relationships yet with groups and I remember talking about it at the time on that podcast and it was lots of emailing and groups had shut down and it was hard to get in contact. Whereas now those relationships are just growing and growing and going from strength to strength. So that's really lovely. And how about the the reception of this project? Generally, both from the storytellers who you recruited and also from the participants, how did it go down? I think it's been really positive, hasn't it, Lucie We made lovely feedback. think 95 % was very good in our feedback forms and then the other five was good. So, good. so all really high receptions and stuff. So, yeah, it's been really good. The groups themselves have given really positive feedback, so that's been nice. And the storytellers as well. Yeah, lovely. Yeah. I'm going say because we're doing this podcast after we've already listened to the storytellers do all of their podcasts before. So it's been lovely to listen in of how they've seen the project and how they felt about it and the things that they've spoke about that they enjoyed as well. It's been lovely to sit and hear that. So yeah, it's been nice. Yeah, I was definitely gonna say like from the perspective of this podcast and you know, this is episode five, so maybe people will be listening to it last, but I think the feedback from the storytellers is really clear and this podcast is such a testament to that. Like it's been so lovely to talk to them about it and you can see all the people involved with the project just really like lighting up and just having such a great time talking about it. S o I can t I can tell that that they've had very good feedback. And you said Lucie as well that you staffed some of the events and like that it looked like everyone was having a nice time. Yeah, I'm trying to think how many I stuffed in the end, there was definitely three that the same family was at. So they travelled around, a mother with her two boys, yeah, loved it. That was three different artists as well, they'd really gone, well storytellers, and really gone and experienced them all. And then they might have gone to more that I wasn't at as well. So yeah, that was really lovely. repeat Customers. Yeah. It kind of proves that people are seeking out opportunities to be creative, particularly when they're in safe spaces. Was there anything that surprised you about the project? I think one thing that surprised me is the amount of legacy that the project seems to be leaving. I think Lucie mentioned it earlier, just about how some of the groups have approached it and said, can we get in contact with the storyteller because we want to work with them again on something else, which has been lovely. And also with the storytellers themselves. know at least one has taken what he did with the care home, for example, and the things that he learned about working with people and about echoic memory and then actually put that into a new bid for Arts Council funding for a new project. So that's nice. It's like, it's I don't know, maybe like a catalyst for other things to. Yeah. Having a having a knock on effect on lots of people's lives as well. Yeah. Yeah, we were also talking before this about the like cohesion of the project because like every each storyteller has worked with such a different group from like care homes to SEND schools and just like the memory group that meets in the library and yet the exhibition and publication is pulled together really cohesively like it just yeah it's flowed really because yeah you'd think When you start, like, well, what's going to come out of all these groups that we can then present as a whole exhibition? But it's just lovely, isn't it? Like, it has really flowed together. And it is, is, but like you say, that is kind of a surprising thing because, know, we're very much saying to the storytellers, like we were the artists and the writers, you know, don't get too hung up on the end product, you like you develop your practice and what's happening within your groups and for that to be able to evolve naturally and try not think too much about that end outcome. But however, you know, and so because this project involves us having certain things in place, like an exhibition, we know we're going to do an exhibition and a publication. Then the, we don't know what is going to be in that, which then gives the storytellers quite a lot of freedom. But then when it has come back, you know, the exhibition, like you say, just really works cohesively and all these different approaches in one publication but it still feels very much it's all about the storytelling experience. Yeah, I know it's lovely. And I guess a question that kind of follows on from that a little bit. I know that we talk a lot in this project about the concept of co creation. which kind of touches a little bit on what you guys are talking about, kind of letting the storytellers have freedom. And I know we mentioned kind of adjusting their roles as adjusting their workshops depending on the participants in the room and things like that. But I wondered if you could talk a little bit about co-creation and whether your concept of what co-creation is has evolved over the course of the project as a whole. I thought it was really interesting to see how each storyteller approached it. They all had their own definitions of it, didn't they? So I thought that was really, going in, I think I had my, like, yeah, this is co-creation. It's a group, artist, storyteller working together. And then the storyteller's gonna like make a commission from that, but it's gonna kind of be their work more so. But then as we've like gone through the project, there's so much more of the groups in there than I was expecting, but I just think that's really lovely. Like, yeah, and I'm like, that's their definition of co-creation. Everything really is both the storyteller and the groups together in every commission. And you can see both of them so strongly in their commissions. I think that's really nice. It's really interesting how that has come about, that you can see both the participant and the artist in the pieces that were in the end developed. But however, interestingly, each storyteller approached the idea of co-creation very differently. Yet what ended up, you could hear all the voices. You could hear all the voices in the end product, I think. which is really interesting. No, it's really nice. I feel like that's something that like that I've learned over the course of the projects as well is that the co-creation, there being lots of, as you said, Michelle, like lots of different approaches to it. And again, I was really surprised, I think, having seen all of the pieces that have been created throughout all of the projects, just how much something can be created by two people as well. Like you said. Like it's you know, more traditionally we would think of like you said, Lucie, like a workshop leader kind of shaping it or kind of coaxing something out of people and that's not actually it's like a completely different starting point isn't it co-creation. What have been the most challenging aspects of the project or what is the most valuable lesson that you've learned during the project? challenging, I think, maybe logistically, just because of the nature of what we're doing. So it's like when we're trying to make these sessions happen, you we've got to think of the storytellers availability, because obviously these are freelance practitioners, the groups availability, and then also like the spaces, are they available in the libraries? Does that all line up? And it's lining all those things up. It's just quite, yeah, it's...It is a tangled web. But yeah. that has been challenging. But then it's also really good then to see that come to fruition and to see like a cohesive program of storytelling across different libraries. Yeah, it's not really like a challenge, but we were mentioning before about a mindset shift with the projects like this, where obviously, as you've said, we've got to have an exhibition, we've got to have an outcome, but... It is more about the artist development and the process of the project. it's been quite, yeah, it's just different, isn't it? Like in our approaches as well. not that we didn't have any expectations, but it's just lovely to see the progression of the storytellers, isn't it? And it's like, that's what the project's for. It's for them to develop in their own and then...as a lovely outcome, we then have these lovely commissions and publications. And it's just a new way of approaching a project, isn't it? So it's like, yeah, that's, guess, not a challenge in itself, but just a difference compared to some other projects that we do. A mindset shift starting out. Yeah. Yeah. And that's like I think that's really interesting when you think about it in parallel with co-creation as well. Because again, again, it's like another mindset shift where it's like, well, we do have an outcome that we're working towards, but it that's not the point of it necessarily. and that the artists and the storytellers, given that it is co-creation and working together, that they I mean we've heard on the podcast as well that they I feel like they very much go on the journey as well as participants in the workshops too. It's lovely to hear from the storytellers themselves. It's been really nice. No, I think obviously like going into their sessions, the storytellers, you know, they've done a lot of preparation. They have got an idea of where they are expecting this to go or where you're working with each different group. And because what it's about is encouraging people's...creativity and self-expression. They've had to adapt that during the course of the sessions. But then that's good to see because then it is of a surprise what comes out at the end of it. Yeah, that's lovely. It could really be anything. It could go anywhere. and what have you enjoyed about the project? I think for me it was working with such a wide range of people, like going to the groups and seeing storytellers work with them and the things that they were doing in those sessions and then going to the public workshops as well and just, yeah, just chatting and seeing just the cross... Like because they were family sessions, it wasn't just aimed at adults or just at children. It was lovely to see like the different generations. like work together. There was one really lovely story, it was at Blidthworth Library and it was one of Andy Barrett's workshops. And so we had a couple of families there. He started off by playing some story games and they were really lovely. And then he goes into this like, like a second half of his workshop where he does maps and you kind of like draw your, like your family home or like your family street and then they go around a circle and talk about. What they can remember or what's interesting on their street and stuff. But at the same time, the bLidworth Memory Group was meeting and they were one of the targeted groups that had worked with Becky, but they were there. And Andy said, well, why don't you come in and do our second half of the workshop? And it was so lovely because then these children and families were talking about their streets where they currently live and the memories that they've got probably happening every day and still developing. And then the Blidthwith Memory Group were talking about their childhood streets and homes. And it was just so lovely. was just watching it all and was just thinking, this is just so sweet and so nice. And yeah, that was definitely my favorite thing that's come out of it. Just all the sharing of memory, sharing of stories across so many different types of people and generations and groups. And yeah, it was lovely. Although also that, like, the stories can be told in so many different ways, but they always connect people. You know, we've got Ling that was telling her stories through music. But then, like you said about Andy, with the maps and then you have Nikki, who is very much the tradition of an oral storyteller and everybody's a little bit different. You know, we've ended up with some augmented reality in the exhibition. What holds all these different things together is the fact it's about telling stories and sharing stories. Yeah, there's so many lovely examples there was another story. It was at Skagby Library, it was public workshops. And so she has this big, like, cranky theatre that she takes to her workshops. it tells a story of, it's like a lady that some things happen, she puts a curse on a man, and it's kind of like, like it is a true story. Like it's based on some like court records where she was accused of being a witch. it's a good story. But the families were there and she was about to start the workshop and there was a group of teens in the corner and they walked out and she was like, no, don't walk out, like come in and join. And they were like a little bit like hesitant, like do we want to go and sit next to some like six year olds? But they did, they came and sat and then she told this story. So she's like moving the mechanisms in the cranky theater, like doing voices, like, just such amazing storytelling. And they were just like, they were in, like, you could tell they were really enjoying it. They were asking questions, like she was asking questions and they were responding. And that was just another lovely, yeah, just cross, cross group thing. an example of like how stories do bring us all together. Yeah, really, yeah, just so nice, yeah. I think it's again like a real testament. I was thinking, while you were speaking, Lucie, about what you said, Michelle, about people having a safe space to engage with that kind of thing. Because again, like those kind of the cross-generational engagement that you mentioned, where do we have a space to do that except from in libraries and when this is kind of like fortuitously put on and kind of accessible to everyone? like when I think we have so few spaces that are accessible and I mean that in terms of like literal accessibility but also like financially they're the site society I feel like is not really set up for that at the moment. and so yeah to have spaces where you can get involved with the cranky theatre on an afternoon if you're a teenager along with a six year old like that's just lovely that that even exists at the moment I think so I just think that... Yeah, yeah. think that's the thing about like, because we've got like the Arts Council funding that is enabling us to give these really like quality creative experiences to communities like for free to families for free. I mean, it's not without it's challenges because sometimes with what we found is the some of the workshops, storytelling workshops would book up quite quickly. But then your actual participants on the day that can vary. And we learned that quite early on. And we kind of adapted our approach by then. Okay, we know all these people have signed up via online, but let's contact them to remind them that it's happening and to ask them to let us know if they can't make it so then we could release some more spaces for other people. yeah. Yeah, and also just because they are free sessions, anyone on the day in the library can just pop in. Most of them were in open spaces of the library, so if someone was just coming by even for 10 minutes, it's nice that they've had that for a little bit. So in a way that's like a challenge and a benefit 'cause as you say, people can sort of just drop by as and when, but also then you might have a bit of unpredictability with attendance And it is, you you don't want to like shy away from the fact that like there are sometimes challenges, but I know that obviously other organisations experience the same and this idea of people committing to something and then you are, you get to your capacity for that event. So you're not promoting it anymore. But then sometimes that might translate into like somebody doesn't turn up. And that is difficult. We were lucky in this project that we did have and I think a lot of that is it is to do with the funding. We had the capacity to keep communicating with the people that were booked on, remind them and yeah. And so kind of my final question, which is it feeds in quite nicely from what we were just saying, but is there any advice that you would give to other organizations who might be interested in running a large scale creative project like this one? I mean, from listening back to all the storytellers have said, I think the training that we've provided and the CPD with Daryl and Co and the Alzheimer's Society was just, I mean, I know obviously we're very fortunate because we've been able to fund it through NPO and the Arts Council, but I think listening back to what the storytellers have said in the podcast and to us, that seemed like such a vital and like almost unique part of this project that they hadn't all experienced before when they've been working with other projects. So that was just really nice of them to offer that to them. I think that is what, you know, that is like advice to other people, other organisations in their projects that actually like invest in the time to put that training into place does have lots of value. I remember when we first started, I'm a writer, you're kind of a little bit nervous developing the training because we're actually advertising for established creatives to join us. They know what they're doing. So is this training program going to offer them anything else? But consistently, from writer to artist, it's one of the things that they have valued most about the project. It's not necessarily that they're always learning something new in that CPD, it's having the time to think about it, to discuss it, and to refresh that knowledge of different audiences. And yeah, that's been great. And I would say that for other organizations, yeah, putting in some time at the beginning for your artists to develop is really fruitful. Yeah. Yeah, and I know we have touched on it before, but maybe taking away the pressure of the product. Like, yeah, because we were able to focus on the practitioners themselves and their development. I feel just, and they then don't feel stressed to produce something that we've had in our minds before we've recruited them. But then they're with the groups and what is happening on the ground might be very different and it's like, how do we bring that back? But it is, you know, it's saying to them, don't get hung up on that, like the end product. We will worry about that because we do need to showcase it for the benefits of the participants and wider audiences, like through the exhibitions, et cetera. But, you know, not for you to get hung up on it, we'll worry about that at the end. We'll worry about how this is displayed as an exhibition, how it is displayed as publication. I think, I because I was involved in I'm a writer as well, I think as a team, we've got more confident each year in that approach. We know there is so many different things happening with the different groups and the different storytellers. But there will be a way to bring that all together. Yeah. Yeah. And then I think we've done, like, started implementing that mindset on our other projects as well. Like, I definitely, yeah. And then you just, if you've got less stressed artists, less pressured storytellers, then you, I mean, I think it was Becky mentioned in her podcast that she felt her product then was better almost because it was so natural and it just developed on its own and she didn't feel the pressures to fit into a box or something to start off with. She could go with what was happening on the day, well, on the different sessions with different individuals involved. So it allowed her a little bit more freedom to kind of adapt to what was actually happening in the room because she wasn't holding so tightly onto like a specific outcome that needed to happen. Yeah. Yeah. I think that is a really good lesson that we can all learn in our work and in our life is to like hold a little bit less tightly, maybe. Yeah. and to kind of like let it be a little bit even when, yeah, like you say, Michelle, like there are, you know, there is a product. That there will be a product, there will be a publication or a or an exhibition or whatever it will be, but just trusting that the things that that come out of it will fit the publication rather than the publication needs to be the main point. Yeah. well yeah, I think those are all my questions. But yeah, it's just been I can't believe the project's come to an end, but it's been a delight to be involved. and yeah, any any closing comments for our listeners? I don't, don't well, I know like you're saying like that this is like the storyteller coming to an end. already we're starting on the next branch of the project, which is I'm a maker and you'll be talking to, you'll be talking to makers next year, all about, you know, their process. Yeah. Yeah. So not the end, just see you later. Thank you so much. Aw, thank you. You've been listening to the I Am A Storyteller podcast from Inspire Culture Learning and Libraries. I Am A Storyteller is the third stage of our I Am A Creator program, which is funded by investment from Arts Council England through our status as a national portfolio organization. To find out more about the project, our storytellers, the audiences who took part and the outcomes, you can visit our website at inspireculture.org.uk forward slash I Am A Storyteller.