Storyverse
Storyverse is an artist-led, co-curated storytelling project and web-based platform that empowers communities and artists to make, share, and spread stories.
Storyverse has recently initiated a project located in Brixton’s Somerleyton and Brixton Market. Brixton’s cultural roots flowered in Brixton Market (est 1870), a historic and present-day focal point for the Windrush Generation community. Saved by local traders from corporate developers in 2010, the site became a bustling and eclectic success story. Now, in 2014, with soaring rent prices, Brixton Market is at a pivotal tipping point of gentrification.
The Storyverse Brixton project seeks to engage with and support around a dozen participants in their teens and twenties from the local area to make and share untold stories, and make heard the voices of their communities.
Storyverse aims to find and work with the next generation of cultural producers and makers from Brixton through a process of mentoring, engagement, and a total of six workshops that culminate in two public facing events in Brixton and at King’s College London. Each workshop will be facilitated by the project leads and will include a range of artists, technicians, and an archival specialist to support, mentor and train the participants.
London Tales Trailer
Storyverse Brixton R&D
For R&D into a Brixton ‘Village’ Storyverse event, we went down to Somerleyton Road street party to talk to young people about community identity. A free event, Spoken Word with Storyverse: Gentrification, History and Social Change took place on 22 May at the Black Cultural Archives. It was aimed at young people aged 16 – 26 years old who were interested in coming together to explore and express Black heritage and culture in Britain.
It was supported by the university's Culture team.