The first round of this summer’s First Person Museum StoryCircles is well underway. Over the last two weeks, we have made some fantastic visits to our community partners, and started doing one of the most rewarding things we can do:  listen.

So far, the stories that have been shared by participants have been electrifying. Each account comes from a different place in the city: Norris Square, Germantown Avenue and Hunting Park. Each storyteller comes from a different generation; from proud grandmothers to our youngest participant so far- just eight years old!

Members at Village Of The Arts & Humanities swap stories.

But in all, each story has so greatly reminded us of our many connections to one another on our day to day adventures in Philadelphia.

The objects that have been shared have emphasized the importance of noticing what the small things in life mean to us when we take a bigger look.

Serena holds a photo of a participant's 40 year-old portrait.

Hopefully, The First Person Museum will display these community stories as small but intricate pieces of  the  huge and dynamic story of what makes Philadelphia so vibrant.

Over the next few weeks, I will be visiting upcoming StoryCircles to bring photos and video from our visits. As a storyteller behind the lens, I invite you to come on the journey of these community visits with me and not just explore the art of storytelling, but the art of community building.

Artifacts at the Village For Arts & Humanities

Village Artist and StoryCircle member Jon Kaufman.

Art found in Norris Square Project's learning center.

Our next Story Circle is TONIGHT, hosted by First Person Arts.

Upcoming StoryCircles

• Thursday, August 5 hosted by the Coffee Cup
• Thursday, August 5 hosted by the Philadelphia Young Playwrights
• Wednesday, August 11 hosted by the Art Sanctuary

All events are FREE.

Bring yourselves and your story!
- Maya Shipman, Museum Marketing Intern

The First Person Museum is built upon the premise that everyone has a story to share and the objects we care about can become gateways for sharing some of our stories. In order to reach as wide of a group of storytellers as possible, First Person Arts has partnered with some amazing community organizations for StoryCircles. These are basically show and tells, where you can bring the stories and objects (if you still have them or they are easily transportable) that matter to you and share that story. Each one is facilitated by Dianna Marder of the Philadelphia Inquirer and either Katonya Mosley or Angel Hogan. Art Sanctuary and The Best Day of My Life (So Far) have already hosted StoryCircles but we have a bunch more coming up:

Saturday, July 24 hosted by the Norris Square Neighborhood Project
Tuesday, July 27 hosted by the Village of Arts and Humanities
Saturday, July 31 hosted by Ayuda Community Center
Wednesday, August 4 hosted by First Person Arts RSVP here.
Thrusday, August 5 hosted by the Coffee Cup
Wednesday, August 11 hosted by the Art Sanctuary
And there will be one more, date TBD, hosted by Philadelphia Young Playwrights.
All events are FREE.

If you’re interested in getting involved in any of these StoryCircles, write me with your questions or RSVP to the StoryCircle on August 4th.