A recent symposium entitled “Exploring Identity Through The Power of Storytelling,” sponsored by The Music Center and La Plaza de La Cultura y Artes, included a map-making workshop:
“Participants in the workshop were asked to reflect on their own community and their experiences and memories of the people, places and things that make up their neighborhood. They were asked to select five ‘hot spots’ or locations that hold a special memory of connection for them; a place where they spend time with friends, a location they are scared to go to, a favorite place that is no longer there, etc. They were then asked to draw a map that featured their ‘hot spots.’ The next step was to place a clear plastic sheet over their map and write in the significance/memory of each location.”
While sharing their maps with the larger group, “they unfolded stories and discovered new ways of seeing themselves, their identity and their community.”
This also sounds like the basis of a great exercise for older people to reconnect to their childhood memories and share them with family and friends. Read more here.
