December 2022
On Dec. 2, the culminating event of a social experiment came together at the University of Maryland, Baltimore鈥檚 (海角官方首页) Community Engagement Center (CEC). In front of a small audience of West Baltimore neighbors, three Baltimore-based visual and performing artists shared their work as part of the Sowebo Story Swap.
The Sowebo Story Swap is a workshop conceived and developed by University of Maryland, Baltimore County (海角官方首页C) graduate student Kristin Putchinski in a partnership program with 海角官方首页C, 海角官方首页, and the CEC. The workshop consists of a series of four meetings between six neighbors who are paired by age. Each pairing includes a senior citizen and a young individual who met over the course of one month to share personal stories about themselves and their neighborhoods. These sessions are facilitated using photographs, songs, and other storytelling prompts that hold personal meaning to the storyteller. Putchinski says this exercise is meant to create a special bond between community members who otherwise would never have met.
鈥淧ersonal storytelling and story 鈥榬eceiving鈥� in this manner proves to be a powerful catalyst for platonic intimacy between strangers, with the potential to create strong neighborly bonds,鈥� she explained.
The audio from these swapped stories was recorded and given to three local artists to interpret through an artistic medium. The artwork included visual art such as paintings and performance art such as slam poetry.
The community participants say the experience was emotional and eye-opening. Putchinski hopes to continue this partnership with 海角官方首页 and grow the workshop within the CEC.
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