Live Storytelling at Libraries

Outreach at Asheville Art Museum

About

Asheville Art Museum drew inspiration from “American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection” to introduce the folk art of storytelling and to invite participants to use the exhibition as a springboard to create their own stories. Storytelling is especially important to the communities and cultures living in Appalachia, where the museum is located. Knowing that it could be a difficult place for rural communities to get to, Asheville Art Museum delivered programming geared toward youth and families in local public libraries. Together with museum educators and professional storytellers, participants watched performances, explored exhibition work reproductions, and wrote and performed their own unique stories.

Intended Outcome

Asheville Art Museum aimed to deepen community partnerships and expose 150 new community members to the museum through outreach.

Actual Outcome

Asheville Art Museum reinvigorated partnerships with six area libraries through multi-opportunity, multi-location storytelling programs. Such offsite programs attracted 218 community members.

Advice Post Project

Be flexible with programming plans to better serve visitors and community members. Asheville Art Museum originally intended for these offsite programs to take place only three times at rural schools and libraries. However, with staffing changes and logistical barriers, the museum pivoted to offering the programs more often and at more libraries.