Spoken Stories with Felicity Goodman:
What Now? What Next?

Storyteller, Writer and Community Artist Felicity Goodman shares spoken stories which reflect on the power of creativity. For our Family Arts Conference in November 2021, we commissioned Felicity to create two special stories, which were presented during the conference.

The first story looks back on family experiences during lockdown, whilst the second brings together important considerations for arts organisations as we take our next steps into the future.

What Now?

In this first spoken story Felicity interweaves tales of family experiences during the pandemic, drawing on shared moments of loneliness, appreciations for the small things in life and the activities that reinvigorated families’ worlds. This is a story of how creativity helped to bring joy and meaning during challenging times.

“…They looked back and saw that the year was a mountain they had climbed, and now at the peak they enjoyed the view…”

Play the video to listen to ‘What Now?’

What Next?

Written in response to listening to presentations and conversations from people working in the arts sector during the Family Arts Conference, this inspiring storytelling piece unravels ‘What’s Next?’ and explores how those working in family arts can move forward. Presented with a chorus that reminds us that creativity and expression is at the core of our work, why we do what we do and ultimately the heart of every person – young and old.

“…If we want to move forward, we have to work with each other
We have to innovate in the ways we create
And be weary of keeping gilded golden gates…”

Play the video to listen to ‘What Next?’

To develop the spoken story, Felicity collected the ideas, learnings and conversations on paper which she then transformed into the ‘What Next?’ story for the final keynote of the conference.

Inspiration board by Felicity Goodman, collecting considerations for the next steps for family arts organisations. This part focuses on Black Lives Matter.

Felicity Goodman's depiction of spoken stories about family experiences during lockdown

11 January 2022

FURTHER INFORMATION

felicitygoodman.com

Felicity Goodman is a Storyteller, Writer and Community Artist

Based in Warrington and working across the North West, Felicity has a background in theatre and works with people of all ages and stages. Her work explores belonging, connection and the courage to express yourself. She is an associate artist at Manchester Art Gallery and works regularly with Z-Arts.