Story Led Engagement

People of all ages understand and connect with stories, making them a perfect springboard for meaningful community engagement. In partnership with cultural hubs, communities and educational settings, Storylines design and facilitate innovative workshops, events and resources.

 

The Storylines team have decades of experience of working in different settings. These include schools, community spaces, universities, museums, galleries and heritage locations. Everything we do is tailored to the people, organisations and communities we work with. We use a range of creative approaches to help people to share, document and enjoy stories. From creating a series of digital stories and toolkits to deepen community engagement with climate change, to embedding ourselves in a community for a year of intergenerational story exchanges, Storylines enjoy different challenges and enjoy working with people of all ages.

 

At the heart of our engagement work is the creation of safe and welcoming spaces. This allows people to openly share and foster meaningful relationships. We believe that this form of connection is much needed in the light of the increasing rates of isolation and alienation we see today.

 

From the socially isolated man who developed a meaningful friendship and grew in confidence after attending a series of sharing sessions in his community, to a woman who finally felt able to reveal her long hidden story with her children, the benefits of supporting people to share their stories is nuanced and immense. Ultimately however, the more we share and listen, the more resilient our communities become.

 

Storylines also produces innovative and exciting resources which extend the reach of the stories and provide different ways for people of all ages to explore a place or theme.

Digital Stories, toolkits and a series of community engagement sessions, delivered in partnership with the Bude Climate Partnership.

 

A workshop we ran as part of ‘Landmark Travels- Our past in a suitcase.’ 

Memory Day, Digital stories and workshop with Devoran Primary School for the Rhoda Mary Project.

 

Working in Partnership

We thrive on collaboration and have enjoyed working with a range of organisations and communities to deliver story-led engagement. These have included the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, the Rhoda Mary Project, the Hall for Cornwall, Kestle Barton, the Devon and Channel Shellfishermen Association, the Cornwall Heritage Trust, the Bude Climate Partnership and the Institute of Cornish Studies.

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Testimonials

We commissioned Storylines to produce a series of digital stories and toolkits to engage our community in taking climate action. At every stage of scoping, planning and delivering the project Storylines far surpassed our expectations. Their team’s dedication and commitment were exemplary and we were bowled over by their passion, hard work and attention to detail. The films were outstanding and have received plaudits from our funders, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund. We were so impressed by the toolkits that we subsequently commissioned Storylines to help us deliver some community engagement pilot sessions using the films and toolkits. Again, they were thoughtful and highly creative collaborators. Best of all they were totally reliable and never failed to deliver what they set out to do. We hope to work with them again and without any hesitation would recommend them to other organisations.

Rob Uhlig, Bude Climate Partnership

In March 2017, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall launched ‘Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed’. We approached Storylines to help us deliver an innovative programme of community engagement events to support this exhibition. The aim of the project, Tattoo Tales, was to meet with different community groups, record their tattoos and the stories behind them. The stories will form content for the exhibition and provide a platform for community voices within the museum.

From our very first meeting with Storylines, we were impressed by their professionalism and expertise, their clear-headed thinking when discussing costs and outcomes, and their ability to think practically and creatively when responding to our requests. Sarah and Ali’s wealth of experience in engaging with diverse communities and drawing out stories and responses with sensitivity can be clearly seen in the quality of the material they’ve supplied for us. We have very much enjoyed working with Storylines and look forward to future collaborations.

Seth Hall, Learning Manager at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall

Working with Storylines was a dynamic and successful collaboration. Their experience and creative approach made them a wonderful ambassador for the project and for Kestle Barton’s relationship with the local community. In all of our collaborations with Storylines their dedication, professional and enthusiastic attitude, preparation and follow-up are always impressive and make them a joy to work alongside. Their creative approach combined with their skill and experience working with people of all ages to create and orate stories is original and a real contribution to local communities and individuals…and Kestle Barton.

Dr Ryya Bread, Curatorial Director of Kestle Barton

Wow- what a great few days for the children and staff. Creativity, independent thinking, enquiry and confidence was built over the duration of the project. It is so important for children to learn about their local history and have an appreciation for it. This project was perfect for this! I’ve learnt a lot myself, and look forward to implementing some of their ideas into future teaching. Very inspirational and engaging. I hope that we can work together in the future.

Josh McDonald, class teacher at St. Buryan Academy

What a wonderful experience the Storylines workshop was. So creative and immersive, the children were engaged throughout. There were plenty of opportunities for the children to be creative and a good level of support was provided for those who were less confident in their artistic abilities. The workshop made history come alive in our classroom and the pupils have produced a spectacular piece of artwork of which they are immensely proud.

Katie Thurston, Class 6 teacher at Devoran School

We have travelled on a story journey… opening doors into our pasts, presents, where our stories come from. Thank you for leading us along the way. It has been a pleasure to share, to listen, to record and to celebrate these stories. We are each our own best storyteller. We are each the guardian of our stories. I carry my stories with me wherever I go. I feel more connected to them now somehow. 

Lisa Williams, participant

A wonderful experience. I have particularly enjoyed meeting such lovely people and hear their fascinating stories. As someone said, “Everybody has a story to tell.” Your warm and caring approach and your willingness to be flexible and adaptable have helped us all to progress as individuals through the sessions. Thank you. 

Susan Soyinka, participant