Striking a chord with storytelling in Derry

Idea Hacking bills itself as “part social event, part ‘brain food’” and that’s pretty much what we got at the first event in Derry recently- free food, free drinks, plenty of interesting people to chat to and presentations by some great people from across Northern Ireland.

The idea of the event was to take a look at one big theme (in this case storytelling) from lots of different angles. With TV producers, animators, graphic designers, authors and performance poets all giving their take on what storytelling means to their work, the hope was that everyone of the 70+ attendees would be able to pick up something useful to use in their own work.

Animator Joel Simon’s shared his story of being introduced to the politics of Northern Ireland on his arrival in Belfast, and his willingness to look deeper, make a home and build a successful career here struck a personal chord with me.

For those of you who don’t know his work check out the video below:

Similarly, I enjoyed the unpolished honesty and real feeling of ‘place’ of performance poet Catherine Brogan’s work. I am not at all into poetry but the natural and passionate way she told and expressed her poems was just lovely to see – especially when she spoke about her Grandfather – it was really touching.

They both impressed me with their refreshingly straight approach and ability to connect – which is probably the biggest lesson I’ll aim to bring to my own work.

More than anything, Idea Hacking was a really fun evening out and the perfect chance to get to know some people I wouldn’t otherwise have met. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

by Siobhain