We all carry with us a story, a fundamental narrative; where we come from, where we’ve been and what we have done; the defining moments of our lives. Sharing these events is the act of storytelling, the process of structuring a narrative. As narrative is also discourse, it references the premise of the story as well as the account itself. A story can find many expressions, it can be yelled, whispered, sputtered, shouted, argued or demonstrated - it can be told through voice, moving images, objects, written word or a song just to mention some. It is always time-based, but time can be understood and represented in countless ways.

MJFs starting point is art, from here we address other fields of thinking. Similarly we want to approach the subject of narration and storytelling from several angles, seen through art, film, social research, literature, philosophy, politics and local history. We would like to combine a theoretical perspective with the personal, artistic and performative. This subject feels urgent and important in a media- and debate reality full of confusing facts with real political consequences. The seminar will contextualise this with people’s drive to share their stories, in the form of art, music and film but also through oral storytelling as a means to preserve and pass on local and family history, and as a way to understand each other across cultural divides.

With generous support by Fritt Ord, Arts Council Norway, Saastamoinen Foundation and KONE Foundation