Program: Stories From Deep In The Heart

Empowering Community Members of All Ages to Document Family and Community Traditions through Storytelling 

“Stories from Deep in the Heart” is Texas Folklife's award-winning folklife and audio storytelling training program for students, teachers, and community members.  Participants create short, broadcast-quality audio stories on the folklore, arts and traditions of their families and communities.

Education

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Stories partners with AISD and other districts to serve schools with a high percentage of at-risk youth, and schools that have a pressing need for cultural diversity training. The program also includes a “Summer Institute'' workshop for teachers selected by an application process to work with professional folklorists, journalists and radio producers. We provide live, asynchronous, and virtual programs. 

Community

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Stories maintains partnerships with local cultural institutions throughout the state. We provide workshop training in folklore, oral history, interviewing, and podcast production.  Along with community partners, the Stories program selects regional fellows to produce stories that highlight the cultures and traditions of their communities. Our Community Folklife Series selects budding folklorists from across the state and provides training and project support. Crowdsourced projects like Little Texas Stories allow community members of all ages to submit their own interview recordings. 

Media

Stories projects reach wide audiences. Projects are shared on PRX and picked up by public radio stations throughout the country. The Texas Folklife Soundcloud features a playlist for each workshop. Stories projects are also highlighted on the Texas Folklife website, YouTube, and social media pages. 

Listen to some audio pieces created through the Stories from Deep in the Heart program:

Audio pieces from this program are also available to public radio stations via our Public Radio Exchange channel.