FEAST (Federation of Asian Storytellers) Conference, Jakarta 2023

FEAST was launched in Chennai in 2018 by a group of passionate and experienced storytellers and since then there have been 3 conferences. My story colleague, Anna Manuel and I, attended the 2019 gathering in Bangalore and co-presented 2 workshops on kamaishibai and telling stories with paper, string and body percussion. And then came Covid and the story world went virtual.

Finally the FEAST community got to gather again in Jakarta. With over 100 delegates from 14 countries, the excitement was palpable. There were 16 workshops planned, story swaps, keynotes and a cross-cultural 90 minute performance of the Ramyana. There was dancing, singing and spontaneous evening story gatherings that went late into the night. All of it fantastic but one of the highlights for me was re-connecting with story friends living in Asia who I only ever get to see on special occasions.

For this conference, I was persuaded by my friend and colleague, Kate Lawrence, to offer a workshop, Let the feather fall - hosting and holding community to tell stories. We both run community storytelling events in Melbourne - different but similar. Kate founded Story Wise Women in 2016 - Melbourne’s original storytelling event for women and I co-coordinate the Newport Storytellers. Our aim was to have a session where people could share their experiences of community storytelling or leave with their own draft plan for creating caring and inclusive storytelling events through shared storytelling and listening.

Photo: Alicia Dongjoo Bang, Jackie and Kate

The next FEAST Conference in 2024 will be in South Korea. Now that’s something to look forward to!