On the occasion of the 20th issue of Volume Magazine, the Architectural Association will be hosting a roundtable discussion about writing and storytelling with presentations by author Tom McCarthy, filmmaker Dave McKean, AA’s director Brett Steele, GSAPP’s dean Mark Wigley and Volume 20’s editor, Jeffrey Inaba.

Storytelling communicates facts, but it also builds upon real-life accounts to enrich public expectations and elevate beliefs. To these ends, it is worthwhile to get reacquainted with the children’s story. Although regarded as a vehicle to escape reality, it could again help to elucidate larger social and political storylines. Volume 20 presents storytelling as a means of understanding our time.

The contributors to the issue show the ability of the children’s story to make sense of hard-to-describe events, given that it addresses emotionally difficult, morally complicated and ethically charged issues in a simple concise format. Such constructions are especially relevant today since simple public narratives set the tone for actions in response to the very events (like crisis) which challenge our ability to distinguish fact from fiction.

Storytelling
2-4p
November 20, 2009

Architectural Association School of Architecture

36 Bedford Square

London WC1B 3ES

+44 (0)20 7887 4000