Culture Shock Project Looking for More Stories From People in the North East

CultureShock is an exciting project which is hoping to collect  1000 digital stories from people all over the North East with the number currently at 400.

The project began in late 2008 and with the plan to show the 1000 collected digital stories in a moving exhibition in museums across the region.

Each film has been created by people from all over the North East and have all been inspired by museums and galleries. Right now it is the biggest  storytelling project in the world.

John Coburn is one of the people behind the project. He explains; “This project builds upon the extensive and varied collections held by partners to explore the diverse heritage of individuals, groups and communities living in the North East of England.

“Objects, images, sounds and memories provide inspiration for the creation of individual digital stories and associated collections help people share their own sense of place and identity within the region.”

The idea that different people respond to objects and shaped differently has meant there is a rich variety of stories currently on the CultureShock site. These range from stories about trips to the seaside, relationship break ups and even a story about a dead rat.

John describes what his personal favourites are; “In Good Company is a very brave, brilliantly crafted and never fails to stun people into silence.

“Grave Story- one bizarre event in a man’s life that just resonates so well. Very funny and quirky but strangely profound

“Paperbag- is another bold story from a young person. A window into a life you may otherwise never learn about. This has been shown to a range of groups and often moves people.”

John goes on to explain; “The stories constantly take me by surprise. How people are inspired by objects in ways I’ve never heard of. One participant created a story about his memory of travelling by steam train after being inspired by the smell of soot on a paint brush.”

When I asked whether he was surprised by the strength and emotion of the stories so that Cultureshock has so far created, he responded “If we weren’t surprised by the stories we received, there’d be little point in undertaking the project!

“We wanted this project to be bold, challenging and rewarding not just for the participants, but for the partner museums as well.”

The full selection of stories are available on the website. There will also be a central exhibition at the Great North Museum in Hancock from 13 Feb- 16 April 2010, with subsequent exhibitions planned for other museums.