Storytellers in residence at the Burrell Collection

Back in November we were given the opportunity to be The Burrell Collection’s storytellers in residence.
Our mission was not just to tell stories of objects but also inspire local communities from the immediate surrounding area of Pollok Park with engaging storytelling visits to the museum and encourage them to make new stories and connections. We wanted to instil a uniquely Glasgow approach to these objects, allowing for the museum to have a deeper resonance to those who may face barriers to accessing the collection.

But where to start? The Burrell Collection is comprised of nearly 9000 objects, collected from across the world so trying to choose which ones that could have the most impact presented us with a unique and overwhelming challenge. Fortunately, we were able to engage with the museums incredible team of curators to tell us the stories that often went untold. We heard tales from decorative arts, arms and armour, medieval art, European art, East Asian art, legacies of slavery and many many more. With all this new knowledge swimming around inside our heads we began inviting local groups to come and take part in storytelling tours of the Burrell. We asked groups to think about all the types of story that were contained within each object. We told folkloric, personal, mythic, historical, anecdotal and imagined stories for objects throughout the collection. Then, after hearing stories the groups went on the create their own. We had tales of radioactive banana’s being fed into the mouths of Peruvian monkeys, we heard tale of bathing in hot chocolate in the giant Warwick Vase in the centre of the Burrell courtyard and one group speculated about how Rodin’s the Thinker lost his clothes!

Our Pollok Voices group made a beautiful connection to Cezanne’s The Château of Médan, by describing the experience of bathing in the river and taking coffee on a French balcony. Our wonderful Pollokshaws Hub group were blown away by the size and scale of The Charity of a Beggar of Ornans by Gustave Courbet, creating a story that compared the opulence of the building next to the dishevelled man at the centre of the picture. One participant from Flourish House, a Glasgow based charity for those in long-term mental ill-health recovery, made a connection between the beautiful middle eastern tiles and the tiles of a Glasgow tenement close. Speculating that they were used to make teeth and therefore where the Glasgow term ‘Wallies’ (Teeth) came from.

So finally at the end of June we celebrated all these stories with an afternoon of roving storytelling. Our professional storytellers, emerging storytellers and community storytellers all came together to share stories of the objects. Stories inspired by the community. Stories that are designed to break down barriers, make people laugh and cry, stories that remind you of the humanity at the centre of these objects. Stories that celebrate the silly and heartfelt ways people make connections to all the art on show at the Burrell. Stories that reminded them of mothers, fathers, friends. Stories of holidays and Glasgow and ancient times. With our placards held aloft we encouraged the public to ask for a story. We told stories in quiet corners, on staircases and in secret dark spaces. We told to little and big audiences, on floors, on stairs and in corridors, to locals, tourists and special guests.

All these stories were collected, recorded and can now be heard as part of a community storytelling tour on the Bloomberg connect app whenever you go to the Burrell Collection. We’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to The Burrell Collection for giving us your full support and allowing us for a short period of time to take over your beautiful museum. Special thanks go to Caroline Currie, Learning and Access Curator, and her team for being such incredible hosts. Thank you to all the curators at the Burrell for sharing their wealth of knowledge and expertise.

We’d like to say thank you to all the storytellers involved from our Emerging Voices team Josey Green, Peilin Shi and Liam Campbell. All our community Storytellers, especially Karen with her story of the Gazza Chair. Thank you to our groups, Young Storytellers, Pollok Voices, Voices of Peace, This Women’s Voice, Flourish House, Collective Resonance and all the people who have shared stories of the objects at The Burrell Collection. Last but certainly nit least a huge thank you to our funders The National Lottery, Young Start, Creative Scotland and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. We hope that this is just the start of our relationship with the Burrell and we can’t wait to share these stories again and again. So the next time you’re at the Burrell you might just see us there with a story to share, but if not, be sure to login to the Bloomberg App and listen to the community stories as you make your way through this incredible collection.

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We were delighted to be presented with a Glasgow Doors Open Day Festival award for Outstanding Event for Children & Young People. We shared this award with our friends Hannah Brackston and Friends of Crookston Castle for the workshops we delivered with schools in the lead up to this year’s festival event.

Pollok’s Yuletide Festival
Sunday 7th December, 1 – 3pm