Our Stories
Sound Installation and video, 2003
Our Stories is a multi-media audio installation, crafted in collaboration with community youth, featuring narratives from a culturally diverse group of high school students. The visual centerpiece of the installation consists of five small, white houses interconnected by black electrical cords, symbolizing lifelines. The design is minimalist, emphasizing the auditory experience of the diverse voices of the youth, presented in their native languages.
Each house is equipped with a sound system that plays a story in a specific language. The youth participants penned personal stories and recorded them in their original languages, which are then broadcasted through these sound systems. Complementing the audio experience is a video featuring the students and a wall displaying their stories in print, adding visual layers to the installation.
Visitors can listen to the voices collectively or individually, discovering different linguistic combinations with each encounter. While not all languages may be understood by every viewer, the installation offers a rich experience of linguistic diversity and the potential for peaceful coexistence.
Our Stories not only showcases the variety of languages spoken within the community but also fosters an environment for self-expression and mutual understanding among the youth. Through the project’s workshops, which involved over 50 students in Glendale, California, participants engaged with one another, fostering acceptance and connection – qualities often missing in broader society.
The project yielded stories and sound recordings in 11 languages – Armenian, English, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, Sinhalese, Spanish, and Urdu – with all stories translated into English, Spanish, and Armenian. The workshops also produced various artworks, encapsulating the rich tapestry of voices and experiences brought together by Our Stories.
This project is made possible, in part, by a grant from the California Council for the Humanities as part of the Council’s statewide California Stories Initiative. The COUNCIL is an independent non-profit organization and a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. www.californiastories.org.
The Swiss version of the project, Nos histoires, was made possible with the funding of multicultural cohesion services of the state of Neuchâtel in collaboration with Elisabeth Reichen-Amsler, Eliyah Reichen et Sara Reichen.
This project is made possible, in part, by a grant from the California Council for the Humanities as part of the Council’s statewide California Stories Initiative. The COUNCIL is an independent non-profit organization and a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information on the Council and the California Stories Initiative, visit www.californiastories.org.