This collaboration with STREAT, a not-for-profit social enterprise providing pathways for young people who are disadvantaged or homeless, investigates storytelling as an agent of social change. STORIES MATTER investigates the notion of ‘applied creative writing’ and the connection between stories, belonging and place in a social enterprise setting. This is a project that asks the question: what is creative writing thinking, and how can it be applied to matters of social injustice and inequity? The pilot project featured stories from workshop participants on a wrapping paper design for Melbourne Central. The latest iteration is a living exhibition and workshop series with Melbourne Knowledge Week 2019 called ‘DISRUPT’: Now And Future City Storymap. Our co-authored works include a chapter in the book Social Capital and Enterprise in the Modern State (Palgrave Macmillan) and a paper published in TEXT.

Team: Francesca Rendle-Short, Ronnie Scott, Stayci Taylor, Tracy O’Shaughnessy, Melody Ellis, and Michelle Aung Thin