Workshop 1 – Objects, Images, and Stories - What’s your story? November 12, 2025 “Things are not only what they are. They are also the memory of who has touched them.” -Rainer Maria Rilke “Photography allows me to look back and see the world as I would like it to be — or as it should never have been.” - Carrie Mae Weems (photographer) Objects, Images, and Stories is part Pawn Stars, part The Moth, part Sherlock. It is the Antiques Roadshow of storytelling. Prompt: Bring a small item or photo that tells a story about you - nothing too fragile, valuable, or deeply sentimental. So don’t bring your grandmother’s antique piano. Objects: The smallest relic can hold the largest history. Images: A picture is worth a thousand words. Stories: A single story can hold a universe. Workshop 2 - Snake Oil - Believe The Impossible December 3, 2025 “Advertising is legalized lying." - H.G. Wells Prompt: How do advertising and psychology influence the choices we make, who we are, and the stories we tell ourselves? We will analyze media, then design a product box that represents a personal story, including ingredients, side effects, and a product warning. Workshop 3 - Behind the Mask - Hidden & Revealed February 11, 2026 “Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth.” - Oscar Wilde Prompt: Explore the different sides of yourself - the parts you show to the world and the parts you keep private. What are these sides, and why do we have them? Whether in the lives of superheroes in mythology or folklore, the lives of celebrities, or our own everyday lives, we all carry different sides. Through storytelling and hands-on art-making, this workshop is an opportunity to reflect on your experiences and related feelings and uncover layers that make you who you are. Create a mask that tells your story - revealing or hiding your strengths, your journey, and the unique qualities that define you. Workshop 4 - Choose Your Adventure - Claim Your Power March 11, 2026 “What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” Gabriel García Márquez Prompt: What is your story? Who would you be without it? What would you do differently? In this workshop, you will choose your adventure by rewriting your story as a graphic novel, illustrated storybook, or mural - pick the way that feels right for you. Workshop 5 - Sankofa - A Love Letter to Myself - A Grain of Wisdom or Bad Advice? April 29, 2026 Sankofa is a symbol from Ghana, often depicted as a bird with its head turned backward and its feet pointing forward. We must look back to retrieve what we have forgotten and carry it with us into the future. Prompt: They say we become wiser with age. Some of us are young spirits with old souls. But age without reflection is just time spent. What gifts would you leave for your past self to discover in the future? Please Bring: A grain of wisdom or bad advice that left an impact - words listened to or ignored. A story from your childhood - a journal entry, a page from a diary, or an old social media post. We’ll reflect on how we have changed. We’ll use art and storytelling to dive deep into the funny and heartfelt lessons of life, creating a gift for ourselves and those around us. “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a, yenkyi.” “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” — Akan Proverb Workshop 6 - Reflections of Light May 13, 2026 “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” — Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus Prompt: Light changes the way we see. It shifts the energy in a room, transforming space into something new - alive, open, and full of possibility. As we look back on the work we’ve created in past workshops, we see how each moment of making has become a kind of illumination, a reminder that we can change. We will create lanterns filled with our stories and art, crafting symbols of light that reflect our inner worlds. These lanterns will have the power to transform not only our surroundings but also our inner spaces, turning them into places of calm, reflection, and breath. A chill space. A meditative space. A breathing room. Lillian Hsu (she/her) Director of Public Art and Exhibitions Cambridge Arts 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Cambridge, MA 02139 T 617-349-4389; F 617-349-4669