For immediate useNov. 3, 1997 -- No. 815

Adults with Jewish backgrounds sought for storytelling project

By LEE McFADDEN

Ackland Art Museum

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Ackland Art Museum is seeking adults with Jewish backgrounds to participate in eight storytelling workshops.

The free workshops will take place on Sundays from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 and Nov. 30, Dec. 14, Jan. 4 and 18, Feb. 1 and 15, and March 1 at the museum. No storytelling experience is needed, just a desire to share personal stories of faith experience as well as stories rooted in Jewish traditions.

Professional storyteller Louise Omoto Kessel of Bynum will guide participants in finding and telling stories of faith. The workshops will culminate in a recording to be used as a curricular resource Ackland will offer North Carolina schools teaching about world religions.

Space is limited. Participants are asked to commit to coming to all eight sessions if possible. For more information and to register, call Kessel at (919)542-5599.

The workshops are part of the Ackland's World Religions Project, which seeks to help people learn about five of the world's major religious traditions through both the museum's collection and the perspectives of local people of faith. The project includes building the collections of religious art, developing curriculum resources for N.C. public school teachers, presenting interpretive programs at the Ackland and offering two artist residencies in local faith communities: one with Kessel and the other with photographer Wendy Ewald.

This project has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation of Winston-Salem.

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For more information, call the Ackland at 966-5736

News Services contact: Laura J. Toler