Phoenix Phabulous Experience and Phoenix Center for the Arts
host LIVE OPEN MIC storytelling showcase on
Dec. 11 to create phoenix community history mural
Mark your calendar for the Phoenix Phabulous Storytelling Showcase on Wednesday, December 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Phoenix Center for the Arts Auditorium (1202 N 3rd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004)!
On December 11 in Downtown Phoenix, storytellers will gather to share their personal connections to major Phoenix time periods at an open mic event designed to help local artists create the first, comprehensive Phoenix history mural.
The public is invited to join local celebrity storytellers including Bob Boze Bell, Jana Bommersbach, Pat McMahon, Ivan Makil, Barry Wong, Frank Barrios and Marshall Shore at the Phoenix Phabulous Storytelling Showcase on Wednesday, December 11 at Phoenix Center for the arts. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with open mic hosted for live storytelling from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free and space is limited to the first 200 attendees.
Storytellers will have three minutes to share a fascinating personal story about Phoenix… whether it be heartwarming, humorous, heartbreaking, or just plain memorable – based on the storyteller’s connection to a major Phoenix time period. Several celebrity storytellers will make surprise appearances!
The storytelling showcase is produced by Phoenix Phabulous Experience and Phoenix Center for the Arts, with participation from The Arizona Republic’s Arizona Storytellers Project.
“Stories will enhance downtown Phoenix place making, spotlighting nine major periods in Phoenix history,” said Hugo Medina, artist and mural curator. “Storytellers will help local artists shape a Phoenix history mural to be created the following weekend at Phoenix Festival of the Arts held at Margaret Hance Park.”
Once completed, organizers will install the community history mural at a Downtown Phoenix gallery in spring of 2014, with plans to produce a 3-D animated story of Phoenix.
At the Dec. 11 event, top storytellers will be selected by a panel of listeners and invited by The Arizona Republic to speak at an Arizona Storytellers Project event in 2014 when the community mural is installed in Downtown Phoenix.
Audience participants are invited to share three-minute personal stories connected to life in Phoenix, focused on one of the following Phoenix time periods.
Pre 1867 (ancient Phoenix) – Hohokam heritage and ancient desert life.
1867 to 1880 – Phoenix early pioneer years and the Wild West following the U.S. Civil War.
1881 to 1911 – The Emergent Years of Phoenix pre-statehood.
1912 to 1945 – Statehood and early Phoenix expansion.
1946 (post World War II) to 1959 – Boom Years: Phoenix economic growth beyond Five “Cs,” including manufacturing.
1960 to 1980 – Sunbelt Center and growth away from Downtown Phoenix.
1981 to 2000 – Southwest Metropolis; expansion of sports, culture and early Downtown Phoenix revitalization.
2001 to Today – New Economy, Major Revitalization including introduction of biosciences, enhanced focus on higher education, more sports and major downtown revitalization.
Imagined Future – Storytellers share ideas for the future of Phoenix.
Based on these stories, local mural artists will create a Phoenix community history mural, curated by Hugo Medina. Then, our top storytellers will be invited by The Arizona Republic to present at an Arizona Storytellers Project event in 2014 when the community mural is presented to a Downtown Phoenix gallery!