You are hereFiction Forum: taking Great Lakes Stories Afloat
Fiction Forum: taking Great Lakes Stories Afloat
Arts Across the Waters Presents Stories Afloat
Inspirational Storytelling Workshops Promote Writing Skills and Creativity for Chicago Area Students
CHICAGO, IL – July 7, 2011 – On Tuesday, July 12, Arts Across the Waters will host the second annual Stories Afloat Festival. Approximately 100 college, high school, and middle school students from Gallery 37, 826CHI, the American Indian Association of Illinois, Chicago Public Schools, Peggy Notebaert Museum and Columbia College Chicago will have the opportunity to listen to an oral storyteller relate exciting history about Chicago and Lake Michigan aboard the Tall Ship Windy. Students will also attend small-group storytelling workshops at Navy Pier led by local authors and teaching artists from Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction Writing Department and Gallery 37, where they will learn, through the Story Workshop® method how to generate a story or poem inspired by the day’s activities. The workshops are intended to facilitate creativity through various word games and guided visualization exercises. All student-created stories will be published in a “Stories Afloat” anthology on the Arts Across the Waters website on or before July 31.
Check in for Stories Afloat starts at 10:00 a.m. at Tall Ship Windy at the Navy Pier, Chicago. Tall Ship Windy will set sail at 10:30 a.m.
When: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Where: The Tall Ship Windy at the Navy Pier, Chicago
Cost: $10 includes all activities and lunch
What to bring: Notebook and pen, water, Dramamine if prone to seasickness
You are invited to join us if you’d like to observe any or all of the day’s events.
About Arts Across the Waters
Arts Across the Waters and Stories Afloat are part of an initiative to enhance education about the Great Lakes region through the development of art related curricula, identifying a shared history among Great Lakes communities, and encouraging artistic exchange among youth. More information about Arts Across the Waters and its programs can be found at www.artsacrossthewaters.net.
2010 GREAT LAKES STORIES AFLOAT REVISITED.
The first Great Lakes Stories Afloat Festival occured on July 26 , 2010 where a group of eighty young writers boarded the Tall ship Windy, a replica of an old Yankee Schooner, for a one hour tour of Chicago's inspiring waterfront (collaborating partners included Chicago Young Authors and 826 CHI, Columbia College Fiction Writing Department, Gallery 37, and the Chicago Maritime Musem). During the voyage re-enactors revealed the legends, people, and events which helped build the unique cultural identity of the city on the lake. Later the young artists attended writing workshops at Navy Pier, where they were helped to hone their craft with the support of engaging author/mentors from Columbia College Fiction Writing Department and Gallery 37. In late August singer/songwriter Lee Murdock sang ballads and worked with young songwriters crafting their own pieces (see Lee's kids below). The Festival culminated in February of 2011, when the first Great Lakes Young Writers of the Year Award was presented to Nora Murphy, an 8th grader, for her work on Coho Salmon (see Young writers section).
Past projects:
On April 29, 2010 826 Michigan presented Great Lakes Myths, taught by Ashley Miller, ages 8-11. Young authors wrote about why they loved Michigan, its vast history and unique mythology. The Ann Arbor based workshop explored maps and famous Michigan legends.
