Past and Future: Imagine the Fire of Memory
At its heart, Imagine the Fire of Memory is about how stories travel through time - carried in the gestures of elders, in the cadence of oral histories, and in the preservation of ever-evolving knowledge systems. This exchange connected the past, present and future of heritage around the fire, through food, and by capturing memories of the land in ways that honour, interrogate and reimagine our heritage through the lens of family and community.
For many people, literature and early media is a portal to the world; piquing curiosity about life outside what we know – how things are built, access to areas of interest like art and science, food culture, nature and society. Alongside Africa and its diaspora’s long history of oppression, exploitation and erasure this curiosity runs far deeper than social norms and pop culture – it asks us where we are from and what identity looks and feels like.
It urges us to interrogate our knowledge systems and how – and who – our stories are preserved and told.
In modern society, the culture around storytelling is experiencing a dramatic shift. Not because all storytelling is now ethical, conscious or true, but because those who came before us built passionate foundations and the critical beginnings of our roadmap to new and true living archives.
Continuing this legacy and advocacy, the new generation’s special brands of agency are largely laced with accountability that says what we learned is not the whole truth, that shows its commitment as contributors to a world that includes their stories – and that relentlessly adapts to technological advances and tirelessly works to bend digital platforms to their will.
We are the generation asking our grandparents questions that defy past taboos and sit in the discomfort of the unknown with a façade of confidence that stir many of our elders to crisply clean their teeth, whip a dishcloth or shoot a familiar expression as if to acknowledge the audacity before reluctantly, cheekily, sternly (or very painfully and incrementally) sharing stories and knowledge carried with them from their past lives.
These gestures themselves are unique from culture to culture – some weaving a thread of familiarity through cultures quite distant from each other – gestures far less present in attempts to preserve knowledge systems that are woven from the land and sea as food, medicine and art. For the most part, the elders are enlivened and proud to be heard by the younger generation – deeply moved by the interest and the prized opportunity to endow their knowledge.
Inspired by these cultural stories and the power contemporary, layered storytelling has to create relationships between lived experiences and those across the globe – the Imagine the Fire of Memory exchange took a diverse cohort on a journey to intimately study techniques and tools for storytelling that ignite the fire of our memory even from afar.
Facilitated by Colombian photographer and filmmaker, Jorge Panchoaga, this exploration is rooted in expanding the tools and techniques that allow the younger generation of archivists and storytellers to connect to their culture, heritage and stories.
“IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT PICTURES OR DOCUMENTARIES – IT ALSO USES MUSIC, SOUND, FILMS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO CREATE THIS BRIDGE. GROWING UP WITH CELLPHONES, YOUTH HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION. WE TRY TO CREATE A BRIDGE WITH THE MOST PRIMARY IMAGE. IN THE KITCHEN, THEIR HOUSEHOLDS, WITH THEIR AUNTS, THEIR MOTHER, THEIR UNCLES.”
Expanding on the importance of reconstructing the ways of our people and how they tell stories in the local spaces, he explains that these ‘new’ narratives enrich the stories of our people and create new understanding about our heritage.
Referring to this approach as the ‘curing of the pot”– in reference to seasoning cast iron prior to cooking – he articulates how the things we believe, what we understand, the value we assign to these primary tales allow storytellers to galvanise unique styles and signatures in storytelling that inherently set them apart in the industry.
“THIS IS A VERY GOOD WAY TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO WORK WITHIN THE INDUSTRY BUT WITH OUR OWN PERSPECTIVE ABOUT THE UNIVERSE AND THE HISTORIES. […] LEVERAGE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ELDERS; OFTENTIMES THEY ARE NEGLECTED IN SOCIETY AND IN THEIR HOMES. IT GIVES THE MOST IMPORTANT SPACE TO THE ELDERS BECAUSE THEY DON’T [ALWAYS] HAVE THAT SPACE.”
Over two weeks, interns and community members immersed in this moving workshop focused on sharpening confidence and interrogating the continued evolution of each of their own and collective artist practices – one centred on deepening the roots of culture, heritage and values right where they are.
“THE WORKSHOP IS NOT JUST TECHNICAL SKILLS, IT’S MORE ABOUT EVERYONE KNOWING THEIR OWN STORIES… WE BELIEVE THAT DIFFERENT MEDIUMS ARE AN EXCUSE [TO] CREATE THIS BRIDGE WITH THE ELDERS AND WITH THE PEOPLE, THE TERRITORY, AND THE MEMORIES.”
Evenings were spent around the fire with elders, where stories, practices, and wisdom were shared. Oral histories became recordings, photographs, and films, preserving traditions such as herbal healing, livestock care, and cleansing rituals. Laughter, music, and memory carried deep into the night.
As the days unfolded, everyday practices took on new meaning. Cows as a source of food, clothing, and cultural ceremonies; slingshots and spears as tools of survival, and river rituals as acts of healing were documented with care. These stories became part of fanzines, short films, and music – living testaments that culture is strongest when it is shared.
What started as a workshop closed as a celebration of voices, memory, and imagination. Participants who first held a camera in uncertainty walked away as storytellers of their own heritage. Facilitators left just as transformed.
This was not just a workshop – it was a seed, keeping the past nourished in newly rich soil to grow trees for tomorrow, and shape the stories beneath it.
IMMERSE IN THE FIRE OF MEMORY
Zine coming soon.
