The 'Talking Things' toolkit was the culmination of 21 months of research that I undertook between September 2011 & May 2013, as part of the Masters of Applied Arts in Design program at Emily Carr University of Art & Design.
The this line of inquiry was a personal project as much as it was an academic endeavour. As a newcomer to Canada I often felt the acute lack of a sense of community in Vancouver's neighbourhoods, exacerbated by differences in language and culture. In order to address this problem, I turned to a mode of connection and engagement that has always come naturally to me: Storytelling.
Employing participatory methods and borrowing from theories of narrative empathy and Thing theory, my thesis describes a praxis centred around the design of an experience where the exchange of narratives around everyday objects of personal significance creates a dialogic learning experience that builds social capital.
The resulting project, Talking Things, is a toolkit that is intended to encourage dialogues amongst members at community centres and neighbourhood houses, but can be adapted and employed in other circumstances where the goal is to build a sense of belonging and community. The toolkit describes a workshop with step-by-step instructions to prompt and facilitate the exchange of narratives.
Though the primary objective is to engage people in an informal, collaborative learning experience, the stories can be recorded and have an online presence that sustains the conversations.
I approached the SVNH with the idea of running a Talking Things workshop on their premises. The only stipulation that I had was that I required a facilitator from the SVNH to conduct the workshop.
The toolkit was tested on the Women’s Multicultural Support Group at the SVNH. This was a group of women who meet once a week to share life experiences and build a support network within their neighbourhood. The ages of the women ranged from those in their early twenties, to those over 60 years of age. The women came from diverse backgrounds and each of them had spent different amounts of time in Vancouver and in the community; some had lived in the same neighbourhood for over 20 years and some had arrived in Vancouver as little as 6 months ago. Since anyone was welcome to drop-in and join the group, the workshop was planned to accommodate up to 18 participants, some of whom were familiar with each other and some who had met for the first time. Prior to the workshop, the facilitator from the SVNH had requested the regular attendees to bring an object of personal significance that reminded them of home. Each of the 3 activities were designed to progressively allow participants to share their stories through a mix of collaborative and individual activities using storytelling, mapping and collage.
There were 15 participants, as well as the facilitator from the SVNH, myself and a alumnus from the Emily Carr University, Nayeli Jimenez, who was assisting me with note-taking. The participants attending were from China, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, Colombia, India, Philippines, Korea, Sweden, UK, Macau and Canada.
“Personally, I felt a part of the group even though I didn’t participate in the activities. I got to meet some of the participants in the end who have similar cultural backgrounds as me. I even got invited to a ceremony for a woman who will be receiving her Canadian citizenship in two weeks!”
-Nayeli Jimenez
By then end of the workshop, the participants were fully engaged with the activity and with each other, in which they shared deep personal stories and concerns while recognising that most themes to do with home tend to be universal. For those working within the community, there were important insights into the lives of the participants, and sparked ideas of further community engagement projects that will continue the dialogues started during the Talking Things workshop.
Naming, Brand Identity, Workshop Concept + Design: Zara Contractor
Graphic Design Support / Note-Taking: Nayeli Jimenez
Photography: Adam Stenhouse and Zara Contractor
Workshop Host: South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
‘Tea and Talking’ | Multicultural Conversations in Marpole was made possible by a grant from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Aiming to build an integrated, socially cohesive society by building bridges between communities to promote intercultural understanding and civic pride, we designed 10 sessions and invited the community of Marpole to attend.
‘Tea and Talking’ took place during June 2014. The sessions were facilitated, interactive discussions promoting an understanding of multiculturalism between residents of the neighbourhood of Marpole, Vancouver. The project was presented by the Marpole Literacy Outreach Coordinator, Andrea Krombein, and myself, on behalf of Marpole Oakridge Family Place.
Conversations were started through the widely shared experience of tea drinking and the common love of tea. Participants shared stories about social, cultural and personal rituals, intercultural sharing and political history. A common theme was a deep appreciation of how diverse populations coexist with mutual respect in Vancouver.
Marpole residents of all ages, cultures, faiths, languages, lifestyles and abilities took part. They shared their stories, laughed together and learned a great deal from one another. Many of the participants decorated ceramic mugs with words or drawings representing their ideas about what multiculturalism means to them. This exhibition is the result of the stories and ideas shared during ‘Tea and Talking’.
Close to 300 people from more than 25 cultures and countries participated in Tea and Talking, contributing stories, anecdotes and knowledge. Over 100 individuals drew and wrote on mugs for our photographic exhibition. The messages ranged from thoughts on multiculturalism and pluralism; thoughts on migration, life in Vancouver and hopes for the future.
Our Partners / Hosts included:
Vancouver School Board and the children and families of Sir Wilfrid Laurier Annex and Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary
The Fifty Plus group and the English Corner group from Marpole Oakridge Community Centre
Vancouver Public Library Oakridge Branch
The Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society
Work BC and Progressive Intercultural Community Services Main Street
Naming, Brand Identity, Workshop Concept + Design: Zara Contractor
Photography: Amanda Arcuri and Zara Contractor
Translators: Carol Chu and Harminder Dhaliwal
In Spring 2012 I was commissioned to conduct an activity as part of chART: Public Art Marpole. The project, called Marpole: Stories of Home was a cross-cultural, inter-generational activity that used objects as vehicles for storytelling. Before the workshop, participants (children between the ages of 4 & 12 and their parents/guardians) were requested to bring an object that reminded them of ‘Home’, which would then be cast using florist foam and plaster of Paris.
It was interesting to note how different people shared their stories. Some were more comfortable expressing themselves verbally, while others preferred to write their thoughts out. Some even drew on the cards.
The process remained the same for each workshop with the participants gathering around one large table to cast their objects. While the objects dried, the participants were asked to share stories about the objects and what personal connections they held. These were done verbally as well as in written form on 4” x 7” cards that were specifically designed for the project.
The objects themselves allowed people to open up about themselves; acting as a launching pad for different discussions about home. In only one case was the child embarrassed to talk about his object, that his mother had picked out for him, but he chose to write about it instead. In another case, the child was encouraged to speak after she found that another person had a similar object. She used the two as props to start a conversation with each other and shared her story through their conversation. For one family, English was not their first language, however orally engaging the participants was easier as gestures could be used to convey meaning, whereas their cards did not reflect the stories that had be shared orally.
After the workshops, the finished artefacts were housed at the Vancouver Public Library, Marpole Branch where they were displayed for a month. This gave members of the Marpole community the opportunity to see and read the stories and view the artefacts. Several people connected to the objects and in a couple of cases shared their stories with similar objects. Others were curious about some of the objects which either had to be explained because they were unfamiliar or in some case indistinguishable. In the majority of the cases though, the written story supported the artefact.
Overall, this project came with a steep learning curve. It spoke to how people who have lived in Vancouver for even up to 15 years, still refer to the country of their origin as Home, or how people share stories, how simple interventions in an environment (such as having one long table rather than separate ones) bring people together, how a break for food encourages people to converse more freely with each other. Above all what stood out was the value of a shared, creative experience and the evocative power of objects in drawing out a personal narrative.
From a graphic design standpoint, there were key lessons in how different styles of illustration and design encouraged participation: Overly ‘slick’ or ‘designed’ cards formed an unspoken barrier, where participants were too precious with the cards and hesitated to engage fully. A more hand-drawn, casual aesthetic allowed the participants a certain freedom of expression.
Naming, Brand Identity, Design, Workshop Concept + Design: Zara Contractor
Photography: Amanda Leppe, Laurence Wong and Zara Contractor
Hosts: Marpole Oakridge Family Place through chART Public Art, with special thanks to Cameron Cartiere and Ashley Guindon
Workshop + Installation Assistants: Amanda Leppe, Laurence Wong, Ana Mejia
View the call for the project on the Marpole website and more photographs on the chART Public Art Marpole Facebook page.
On October 19th, 2018, MOSAIC held the 10th anniversary celebrations for its Workplace Connections Mentoring Program. The event was attended by approximately 150 people including clients, volunteer mentors, staff and friends of MOSAIC.
Many current as well as founding Career Mentors joined in the celebrations, as well as five former program staff members.
Each attendee has contributed to building and growing our mentorship program, and we are very proud of how this program has grown over the past decade.
MOSAIC’s Chief Executive Officer, Olga Stachova, provided welcoming remarks and shared her story of immigrating to Canada. Various mentors and clients shared stories of their experiences in the program, and participants enjoyed a variety of interactive exhibits throughout the event.
I worked with a team of 12 staff and volunteers to create this event. We held bi-weekly workshops to develop a theme, activities, schedule and game-plan for the event.
The idea of mentors as ‘guides’ was a recurring theme, and with the idea of celebration, the theme I developed was ‘Stars’: Each mentor, a star in their own right, together make a constellation which helps guide newcomers to Canada. The logo reflected the idea of a star, while alluding to the guidance of a compass.
The rest of the event had to be pulled together on a shoestring budget. Volunteers helped fold 300+ paper ‘stars’, each bearing the name of a mentor, and sized according to the number of mentees they had assisted over the years. The interactive exhibits included a voting booth that prompted participants to answer the question “What does this program offer”; a data strings board where participants could use strings to anonymously record where they’re from, their age, profession, time in Canada and whether they’re a mentor or mentee.
A video of the event is available below.
Naming, Brand Identity, Design, Interactive Exhibits Concept + Design: Zara Contractor
Photography + Videography: Aziz Dhamani
Hosts: MOSAIC BC Workplace Connections Program
Special Thanks: Astarte Sands, Olga Zamudio, Mei Lee and Cassandra Leong
Co-designed and Co-Facilitated by myself and Marten Sims
This storytelling workshop and activity engaged participants directly within a gallery-space and provided an opportunity to engage in stop-and-think reflection that facilitated an inquisitive conversation with the ocean context.
By promoting the writing of poems or stories, the workshop encouraged participants to relate how they felt about things going on in the ocean.
Once Upon a Time... explores the use of narratives and storytelling techniques (employed within the gallery-space) and utilised specific tools (stones, shells, glass-bottles, wooden-table) to assist in grounding the participants in the act of creatively engaging with the theme of the ocean, environmentalism, sustainability and storytelling.
Naming, Brand Identity, Design: Marten SIms
Workshop Design + Facilitation: Zara Contractor and Marten Sims