Telling Stories with Collage: People and Other Weird Creatures


Presented by The Story Island Project with Leigh Rigozzi and special guest Shaun Tan

Friday 29 May, 11am–2.30pm

The Forest
The University of Tasmania
83 Melville Street, Hobart

Suitable for upper primary students (grades 4, 5 and 6)

Free - bookings required (booking form below)

This special Story Island workshop for Schools’ Day at the Island Readers and Writers Festival involves using text and image fragments to create narrative collages.  Students will work collaboratively and by themselves, with the help of our enthusiastic Story Leaders and volunteer mentors, to create their own stories. Each student will be supported to make an original narrative collage responding to the theme of ‘People and Other Weird Creatures’. Students will be encouraged to explore their ideas freely and creatively.

Two workshops will be run concurrently; each has a maximum capacity of 25 students. Participants will be led by a Story Leader and work in table groups of 5-6 with a Story Island volunteer, under the supervision of their teachers.

Sessions Content

·   Activities and drawing games with Hobart artist Leigh Rigozzi

·  Special appearance by Australian artist, writer and filmmaker Shaun Tan

·   Students will work with pre-cut text and image fragments to create stories, first in a large group, then a small group, then individually

·   Each student will have the opportunity to create a ‘People and Other Weird Creatures’ narrative collage to take home

Sessions Information 

  • School excursions should arrive at 10.45am for an 11.00am start. 

  • Workshops will be run as two concurrent sessions, each for up to 25 students. Each session is led by a Story Leader and supported by Story Island's trained volunteer mentors.

  • Both sessions will feature drop-in mentoring in visual storytelling from Story Island's workshop illustrator, Hobart artist and cartoonist Leigh Rigozzi, and also from our special Festival guest, renowned children's book author and illustrator Shaun Tan. 

  • Students will be guided through the session by the Story Leader, and will work under the supervision of their teachers. They'll work in session groups, table groups, in pairs and individually.

  • Students should bring their lunch as there will be a half-hour lunch break at 12.15pm.

  • If any students own books by Leigh Rigozzi or Shaun Tan, they're welcome to bring them for signing by the author.

About The Story Island Project

The Story Island Project is a Nipaluna/Hobart-based not-for-profit organisation that nurtures the creativity and writing skills of young Tasmanians and celebrates their diverse voices. Workshops are provided at no cost to young people living in communities vulnerable to experiencing poverty and marginalisation. Our vision is to help young people harness the power of their imaginations so they can become resilient and creative shapers of their own lives.

Story Leaders

Kate Gross
Kate has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Teaching. In late 2015, she received an AMP Foundation grant, enabling her to spend 2016 on the development of The Story Island Project. From 2006–2015, she was a writer/editor at the Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, an organisation that provided information and resources to the Australian youth sector.

Angie Kingston
Angie has a PhD in English and writes fiction, non-fiction and creative non-fiction. Her writing has won a range of awards and scholarships. She also has a bachelor’s degree in education and has worked as an English teacher and tutor, a writing coach and mentor, an editor, an academic researcher, a peer reviewer and a writer-in-residence. Angie loves to empower young people by nurturing their imaginations, creativity and confidence.

Leeya Lovell
Leeya is an emerging artist based in Nipaluna/Hobart. They work across a range of mediums including photography, ceramics and printmaking. Leeya has worked in schools as a teacher assistant and has worked as a Youth Arts Officer for RANT Arts. They are extremely passionate about the arts and the vital role of the arts in the community.

Leigh Rigozzi
Leigh is an artist based in Nipaluna/Hobart. He produces illustrations, design, and graphic storytelling content for various Story Island programs. He also assists the Story Leader in selected workshops. He has a Masters in Visual Art from Sydney College of the Arts.

Booking request

After we have received your booking request, we will contact you to confirm availability or to discuss your requirements further.