AROUND THE WORLD IN 7 FOLKTALES
2021 – 2022
A self-guided audio storytelling walk and art installation window trail revealing the cultural diversity and ecological folklore of Walthamstow High Street. Two live storytelling walks took place as part of the project, with a folktale publication distributed widely in the area.
Installations were made with consideration to sustainability, only using recyclable card and paper. Only second-hand vinyl offcuts and end of rolls were used. Patterned paper was reused from Alisa’s previous project, screen-printed with eco-inks Permaset.
Local to Walthamstow artist Alisa Ruzavina has worked with seven international High Street businesses to highlight their diverse heritage. Working with traditional ecologically-focused fables from their motherlands, Alisa created window art installations for each business as a playful way to bring nature onto the High Street, with the audio immersing the passers-by in folktales significant to the business owners and their cultures. Some of the stories were read by the business owners themselves.
Around the World in 7 Folk Tales celebrates the abundance of cultures that makes the High Street the unique and exciting destination that it is. Using folk stories as a way to invite the viewers to honour and learn from the wisdom of seasons, animals and plants, the hope for the walk is to encourage more curiosity, attention and care for the more-than-human world that surrounds us.
OUTCOMES:
- 7 PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES BASED ON THE HIGH STREET
- 7 WINDOW ART INSTALLATIONS
- 7 AUDIO STOPS IN 1 SELF-GUIDED STORYTELLING ART TRAIL
- 2 LIVE STORYTELLING WALKS
- 1 PUBLICATION WITH SEVEN FOLKTALES
- 6 WEEKS DISPLAY PERIOD OF WINDOW INSTALLATIONS AND AUDIO STORYTELLING TRAIL
- 100S OF PEOPLE INTERACTED WITH THE WORK
PUBLICATION
Each folktale has its own style of illustration.
After each story you will find Grains of Wisdom from the Wild Ones, a harvest of ecological learnings and morals gathered from the folktales.
THE CRANE RETURNS A FAVOUR
A Japanese Tale On The Value Of Care
Location: Tonkotsu – Unit 4, 202 Hoe Street
THE ENCHANTING ENCOUNTER OF DOCTOR BIRD AND HIBISCUS
The Greatest Love Affair of Jamaica
Location: Tree island – 10 Palace Parade, High Street, E17
SI MALAKAS AT SI MAGANDA
Creation Myth from the Philippines
Location: Milagrosa – 46 High Street, E17
THE GIRL AND THE TWELVE MONTHS
Bulgarian Folk Tale Celebrating the Seasons
Location: Rio Cafe – 85 High St, E17
THE LAND OF THE CEDARS
On the Sacredness of Trees in Ancient Lebanon
Location: Nile – 63 High St, E17
THE WILD HOWLS OF THE IRON WOLF
How Lithuania’s Capital Was Born
Location: Lituanica – 29-31 High St, E17
THE GARDEN OF HEALTH
Spanish Tale of The Healing Powers of Plants
Location: Don Francisco Y La Luna, 18 High St, E17
CREDITS
Lead artist:
Alisa Ruzavina
Commissioned by
Artillery CIC for High Street Adventures
Project Producers:
Laura Kerry and Morag McGuire
Performers & storytelling:
Ruth Boon, Harrison Charles
Musician:
Chris Webster
Book Illustrations:
Rebecca Teague of Baba’s Design
Photography by
Io Viannitis, Joanna Zychla and Jenna Selby
Project Team:
Meg Davies, Amanda Chaloner, Nikita Snegirjov, Valeria Nicolucci, Cristina Espejo Vindel, Mallika Joy, Fleur Bloemsma, Varvara Ivanova
Special thank you to the businesses that have participated and contributed to the project:
Milagrosa Oriental Supermarket run by the Ramos family, with special gratitude to Lourice and Lourdelyn; Anthony, owner of Tree Island Caribbean Restaurant & Takeaway; Hanam and her partner who own the Lebanese restaurant Nile; Ken Yamada, co-founder of the Japanese ramen bar Tonkotsu; Irina, manager of the Bulgarian eatery Rio Café; Yurata, manager of the Eastern European store Lituanica; and big thank you to the wonderful Margarita, director of the Spanish tapas restaurant Don Francisco Y La Luna.
The project was funded by:
Waltham Forest Council as part of High Street Adventures and Small Business Saturday
