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What Is It
Digital Story Station History
Digital Storytelling Partners
Contact Info
DIGITAL STORY STATION HISTORY
“Personal accounts of the past, whether historical or not, are important in understanding who we are as individuals as well as members of our community today.” - MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO Executive Director Ethan Van Thillo
MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO promotes access to film and video as tools for community self-expression and social change and supports the professional development of media artists. Variations of the Digital Story Station have assisted the organization in accomplishing this mission.
PROJECT: SAN DIEGO STORIES
In 2006, MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO worked closely with community activist & librarian Lynn Whitehouse to launched its first digital story station at San Diego's Downtown Public Library. Since then, in addition to stations at the MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO, selected Libraries throughout San Diego served (and continue to serve) as outlets for members of the community to tell their personal stories under the San Diego Stories banner.
Through digitized first person narratives, the program encourages the public to record personalized stories about the people and events that have shaped their lives. With the help of a media artist or community videographer, an individual can make an appointment to create a short 3-5 minute digital story in the form of a recorded interviews, slideshows, or mini-movies. Each storyteller receives a DVD of their completed story and then their video is submitted to the San Diego Stories online. Each year, a community presentation of the digital stories is held in the neighborhoods where they were created.
The program has had great success at the Central San Diego, Escondido and Chula Vista Public Libraries.
In addition to the partnership with the City Libraries, MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO has worked closely with San Diego Japanese American Historical Society to collect Japanese internment memories, LISC's Neighbors affordable houseing stories, and with KPBS and Fetzer Institutes's Love and Forgiveness campaign.
PROJECT: CALIFORNIA OF THE PAST & COMING TO CALIFORNIA
“We are very excited about this great library program that uses cutting-edge information technology to explore, and preserve, California's untold history."
- Susan Hildreth, State Librarian of California 2004 - 2009
In 2007, the San Diego Stories project caught the attention of the State Librarian who invited MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO to replicate the library-based program throughout the State of California. The state initiative California of the Past, and eventually Coming to California, continued to work closely with libraries and local non-profits to gather stories of our historic past, immigration stories, WWII memories, farmland tales, tribal heritage, and sage advice from citizens over 100 years old.
By 2009, over 30 libraries across the state of California have joined the program combining emerging technology, community partnerships and local history to create 100s of digitial stories and hold dozens of community presentations.
PROJECT: THE PEOPLE'S POST
In 2009, MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO joined forces with Knight Foundation, San Diego Foundation and Voice of San Diego to reinvent the digital story station on a grand scale. Now over 120 community videographers in San Diego County participate in monthly networking and training gatherings at MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO in Golden Hill. These community-based videographers are actively participating in creating newsworthy or news-related digital stories for the initiative, The People's Post. The official launch of the program in December 2009 exploded with 150 stories documenting the voice of local community members. These digital stories are uploaded to www.voiceofsandiego.org and www.digitalstorystation.com allowing personal and neighborhood-based stories to be heard to a broad audience; and allowing underserved voices to be apart of the solution for important issues effecting all of us.
PROJECT: BUSNESS DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNITY VOICES
The digital story station continues to grow with specialized trainings for non-profits & businesses as well as focused community digital storytelling workshops. MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO offers customized group workshops locally, statewide and even nationally. New digital story station projects will be announced in 2010.
CONTACT INFO
Local Initiatives
Melissa Johnson, Education Coordinator
mjohnson@mediaartscenter.org
State & National Initiatives
Patric Stillman, Innovations and Programming Officer
patric@mediaartscenter.org
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