Mapping Stories of Barking and Dagenham
our Write Back storytellers have taken on the challenge of mapping their stories of Barking and Dagenham. Taking inspiration from ‘the places that changed them’ these stories take you from Barking Station to Eastbrookend Park, from creative fiction to autobiographical poetry and from migration to mental health. We hope you enjoy the journey…
Watch the film created by our storytellers in collaboration with Dr Jacky Waldock, Mitch Harris and Eithne Nightingale from the Stay Home Stories project.
At the top of this page, you can watch ‘My Space My Place’ the film created by the storytellers to capture their stories of place and space in Barking and Dagenham. This came out of a partnership with Dr Jacqueline Waldock at the University of Liverpool, alongside Mitch Harris and Eithne Nightingale from the Stay Home Stories project.
Above you’ll find an interactive map that allows you to navigate between the various sites that inspired the storytellers. Click on the blue icons to find the stories that correspond with that location.
Below you can see the illustrated map created by the storytellers in collaboration with designers Peri Duncan and Sue Rahman from London Metropolitan University. Use the key on the right to find a quote from each of the storytellers’ pieces and match them to the parts of the borough that prompted these creations.
Check out the posts below for the stories, photographs, videos and audio recordings and more from the storytellers. Let them transport you to many locations - some familiar, some less so - and provide you with food for thought as you make your digital journey across the borough.
All of our storytellers were given a disposable camera to capture the borough from ‘their eyes’. Below you’ll see some of the photographs they took…
This project has been possible thanks to the generous support of many incredible partners. The Shackleton Foundation has provided much of the funding and guidance for the Write Back sides of these programmes. Collaboration with the Design department at London Metropolitan University led to the creation of the illustrated map. Dr Jacqueline Waldock then brought together Stay Home Stories, the Being Human Festival, the University of Liverpool and Queen Mary, University of London to turn these stories into a professionally produced film. This will shortly be available on this website. A huge thanks to all the people who have given so much in time and resources to give these young people’s stories the spotlight that they deserve.
The storytellers would also love to hear from you! What places locally have changed you? What would be your must-have location on the story map? Fill out the short form below to put your ideas on the map…