The Storyworld Project

Date: March – April 2022
Location: Libreria Bookshop, London
Role: Curator, Designer, Interpreter

Exploring what makes up our Storyworlds and the phenomenon of Narrative Transportation.

︎ Project Website

This project set out to explore what makes up our storyworlds and the phenomenon of Narrative Transportation — the feeling of being lost in a story — and how it might be useful in collaborative and co-design practices. How could encountering the storyworlds of others make us more expansive, more inclusive practitioners?

Visitors to the bookshop were invited to sit and read the story themselves before exploring the contributions, encountering the same story through radically different imaginative lenses. I chose the bookshop setting deliberately: a space already inhabited by storytellers and readers, where the proposition felt native rather than imposed.

Outcome: An exhibition that made the usually invisible act of narrative imagination visible and shareable — opening a conversation about how diverse perspectives can expand the possibilities of collaborative and inclusive narrative practice.

Research shows that stories are important for social change. They influence our real-world beliefs. However, when working with narratives in creative practice, we are often limited by our psychology and prior experiences. Exploring and considering the storyworlds of others — collaborative colleagues and potential audiences — could hold insights into how we can be more effective and inclusive as storytellers, creating positive change in the world through more inclusive stories.

Lighting, tech and installation: Jess Barter
Documentation: Jess Sammut
Photography: Lucy Pullicino
Event filming documentation: Mark Lonsdale