Tell Stories Inspired by Artwork at The Art of Storytelling

• By Jenny Parker
• April 3, 2008

PHILADELPHIA – A just-launched website developed by Night Kitchen Interactive invites online visitors to illustrate and create short stories based on artwork from the Delaware Art Museum. At www.artofstoryelling.org, online visitors can submit their creations for publication on the website, email them to family and friends, and record their stories using a computer microphone.

The result is an immersive experience with art that helps museum visitors become creative and active participants in what has traditionally been a passive viewing experience.

Based on the successful The Art of Storytelling project launched by the Delaware Art Museum in December 2006, www.artofstorytelling.org allows visitors to choose a single piece of art, or digitally incorporate elements from dozens of different works to create a new composition.

“When you approach the Museum’s collections creatively, telling your own story, you forge a fundamentally different, more powerful, connection to it,” said Matthew Fisher, President of Night Kitchen Interactive.

“I’ve seen so many children enjoy The Art of Storytelling at the Museum, so I’m thrilled that it’s now available to anyone with access to the Internet,” said Danielle Rice, Executive Director of the Delaware Art Museum. “This allows us to bring a part of the Delaware Art Museum to kids—and adults—around the world.”

The Art of Storytelling offers three different features:

• Experience a Story: Read or listen to creative stories inspired by works in the Museum’s collection or stories about newly created works. Twenty of the stories were originally recorded as part of a podcast tour of the Museum following a nationwide call for entries.
• Tell a Story: View 28 works of art from the Museum’s collection and create a story about one of them. Stories can be typed or recorded through use of a computer microphone. Stories can then be e-mailed to family and friends, and even submitted to the Museum for possible inclusion on The Art of Storytelling website.
• Picture a Story: Create a new, unique masterpiece by choosing a genre and combining elements from different works of art, including backgrounds, characters, and props. A story can also be typed or recorded about this new work, and then e-mailed and/or submitted to the Museum.

Inspired by Howard Pyle’s The Flying Dutchman but want to use the background in Edward Hopper’s Summertime? You can even incorporate elements from more works of art – for example, the lamps from an N.C. Wyeth painting – for story props.

The website includes lesson plans to help teachers use the artofstorytelling.org website to introduce different writing genres to students. Separate lesson plans target upper Elementary students (Grades 3-5), Middle School (Grades 6-8) and High School (Grades 9-12). A Teacher’s Idea Page lets educators share thoughts and strategies for using the program in the classroom.

The Art of Storytelling first began in 2006, when the Delaware Art Museum invited storytellers of all ages to create stories about works in the Museum’s collection. Over 300 original tales were submitted, some by children, some by adults, and some by the artists themselves. Twenty stories were recorded and compiled into an audio podcast, now available via iPods at the Museum’s Front Desk. In fall 2006, the Museum added two “Picture a Story” kiosks to allow visitors to create works of art and write stories about them. Now, with the launch of The Art of Storytelling website, anyone with access to the Internet can enjoy the posted stories and create their own.

About Night Kitchen Interactive

Night Kitchen Interactive is an award-winning interactive design firm with over 10 years of experience in the arts & cultural heritage. Through close collaboration with curators, marketers, and educators, Night Kitchen creates unique online experiences that inform, engage, and inspire. Clients include The Pew Charitable Trusts, The National Constitution Center, and The Smithsonian Institution. Night Kitchen Interactive was founded in 1997 and is located in historic Society Hill in Center City Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.whatscookin.com.

About the Delaware Museum of Art

The Delaware Art Museum, located at 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19806, is open Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Sunday noon – 4:00 p.m. Admission fees are charged as follows: adults (18 – 59) $10, seniors (60+) $8, college students $5, and youth (7 – 17) $3, with children 6 and under entering for free. Admission fees are waived every Sunday thanks to support from AstraZeneca. For more information, call 302-571-9590 or 866-232-3714 (toll free), or visit the website at www.delart.org.

Founded in 1912, the Delaware Art Museum holds a world-renowned collection that focuses on American art and illustration from the 19th century to the present as well as the British Pre-Raphaelite movement. The Museum offers the outdoor Copeland Sculpture Garden, the Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives, studio art classes, the interactive Kids’ Corner learning area, the delART Café featuring free Wi-Fi access, and the Museum Store with distinctive books and gifts.

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