The Workshops
| The first run of the Scandinavian Stories workshops took place June 28 to July 2, 2010. Ten participants, all with some kind of Scandinavian connection, attended five daily 3.5-hour workshop at University Settlement at the Houston Street Center on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The workshops were led by Christoffer Næss, who was assisted by Maria Flores, Martina Högberg and Melinda Martino. The workshops started with a discussion of why people move from their country of origin, what cultural identity is and how it is formed, as well as what the participants' respective Scandinavian countries mean to them and if they identify as Scandinavians. Based on the identity discussions, the participants wrote a personal story that built on their experiences as Americans and Scandinavians. They wrote a script, recorded a voice-over and thereafter collected photographs, moving images, text, drawings, audio and music to illustrate their scripts. Finally they produced a digital story using the video editing software Windows Movie Maker. When the digital stories were finished, there was a screening for family and friends. The dissemination of the films continues on the web, as well as in festivals and conferences. |
