Learning to tell stories with PlaceStories

Representatives of rural policy networks from across the country met in Washington, DC, in mid-September to learn how to create multimedia stories about their work. The participants practiced their story-telling and multimedia skills by sequencing and then narrating digital photographs. To make the pieces, the participants used thePlaceStories software, a digital story production tool that places the finished stories on an interactive map. The software’s mapping feature allows users to learn from others in their own community, or to search globally for stories related to their interests.

The trainees can take these multimedia production skills back to their networks and help member organizations tell stories. The idea is to build an online community that will allow organizations and networks to learn from each other. They will be connected through the PlaceStories platform and their mutual desire to inform rural policy.

View some examples produced by the participants:
Creating Change by Equality State Policy Center
Ajo from SW Rural Policy Network
MidSouth Rural People Rural Policy Members Tour Heifer Village

See the complete project here.

Drawing Resilience: Maureen Hearty

Maureen Hearty transforms objects, space, and community, seeing art as a tool for action, education, and opportunity. The majority of her community-based work today is on the eastern plains of Colorado, considered one of the most sparsely populated areas in the United States. In Joes, Colorado (pop. 78), she is activating space using art, music, and the collection of story. In 2020, Maureen and her friend Kristin Stoltz were awarded an NEA grant for a project titled “Arts for a Prairie Seas: Farming Fluxus.”

Read More »