Storytelling
We hold storytelling events as a way to explore the themes we are working with. Storytelling is the way that real events, folklore and imagination come together to produce individual histories of places. Caithness is a place where stories from the sea, from castles, from Norse and Pictish folkore can be heard, and sometimes only heard because those stories have not been written down. Storytelling sessions are a way of sitting down, on comfy seats, with tea in hand, to listen to and share experiences of this part of the world. They are not performances, they want you to join in and muse upon what’s being telt.
We hold storytelling sessions at the annual exhibiton, and an afternoon of storytelling in October as the Scottish International Storytelling Festival. We do sessions for children, young adults, and adults and they are always free to attend. Get in touch by the contact form at the bottom of the opage to ask about accessibility adjustments.
Alex Patience
Alex Patience is based in Caithness and from a background where stories, of the sea, of the land and of life, have been a part of her upbringing. By weaving together threads of people and places, Alex strenghtans our connection to where we are, and where we might go.
Jane Mather
Jane Mather grew up in Caithness hearing the stories of the selkies, the piping of Windy Ha’ and the beat of the Valkyrie drum. Folklore twinkles in the background of her critically engaging storytelling and allows us to consider how cultural imagination of the past shaped some of the pleasing, and troubling, realities of today.
Greg MacAllein
Greg MacAllein’s stories come from all over the world and from all times. From the fae, through journeys into the environment, geology and nature come a plethora of lore, fables and facts which reveal what humans are by gathering the tales we tell each other.
Doreen Leith
Doreen Leith of Wick Voices collects and records stories from Caithness. As a hsitorical record-keeper with a passion for the people of Caithness, Doreen is in a brilliant position to share with us the personal insights and hidden links between our themes and the stories she has heard.
