‘…to tell a story is to remember, and to help others remember.’
There is a profound connection between storytelling and memory, made explicit in these words written by the Palestinian poet and writer Refaat Alareer.
For Alareer ‘…storytelling is a creative act of resistance to oppression…’
As we watch the ways that narratives are formed around unfolding current events, we watch, too, the ways that storytelling can be wielded as a creative act of resistance.
Joining the curator of Memory Lines, Dr Kirsty Baker, panellists Thomasin Sleigh, Nadia Abu-Shanab and Tīhema Baker invite us to consider how narratives are formed around both historical and contemporary events in Aotearoa, and around the globe. What responsibility do we have to when telling such stories? How can we help to preserve and amplify collective memory?
Thomasin Sleigh is a writer and editor with a focus on visual art. With Sinead Overbye, she writes Te Hīkoi Toi, a weekly visual arts column for The Post, and also contributes to a range of art magazines and gallery publications. In 2023 she published her third novel, The Words for Her.
Nadia Abu-Shanab (English/Irish/Palestinian) is a mum, daughter, sister, partner, educator and union organiser based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She has been a learner in various movements for the last twenty years. She is a founding member of human rights organisation Justice for Palestine.
Tīhema Baker (Raukawa te Au ki te Tonga, Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira) is a writer and Tiriti o Waitangi-based policy advisor from Ōtaki. His writing often deconstructs the complex interactions between and within te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā, based on personal and professional experience. He is the author of satirical sci-fi novel Turncoat, which parodies the experiences of Māori public servants working in central government. His essay "New Zealander of the Year", which placed second in the Landfall Essay Competition 2023, explores the deep whakamā felt by Māori learning te reo Māori, and the ignorance of Pākehā learners to it. He is also the author of young adult series The Watchers Trilogy, and various short stories and essays.
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