The VFC’s Sasha Antohin and Mary Wesley present an in-person workshop at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center on sharing stories of love and delight through oral history interviews. 

The Vermont Folklife Center has been conducting interviews in Vermont since 1984, building an archive of over 6,000 recordings that document everyday expressions of culture and tradition across the state. The premise of the VFC’s interview methodology (which is grounded in ethnographic practice) is that each person is the foremost authority on their own life, and that an interview is a way to understand a person’s experience in their own words and on their own terms.

This workshop provides an introduction to the VFC’s approach to the art of interviewing, as well as a brief overview of best practices for audio recording. The program draws inspiration from Yvette Molina: Big Bang Votive, an ongoing collaborative story-sharing project and art installation. Molina gathers stories from people about what sparks delight or inspires love in their lives as a way to recognize that love and connection can provide a necessary pathway through life’s myriad challenges. Each participant chooses a symbol to represent their story, which Molina renders in egg tempera paint, set against a starry blue field. 

Big Bang Votive exhibit at BMAC

Antohin and Wesley will use the framework of the Molina show to guide participants in telling and recording stories of love and delight. Workshop members will learn how to make a recording using equipment they already own, then break off into pairs to record interviews using Molina’s prompt. These interviews may turn into future paintings in the project.

Registration Required. Click below to register or call 802-257-0124 x101