FOJAM Slam Night Spun Stories - Is This My Story To?

Melbourne’s FOJAM (Festival of Jewish Arts and Music) is excited to announce another edition of their popular storytelling and slam poetry night with the upcoming event Spun Stories - Is This My Story To Tell? Who has the ‘right’ to tell which story? Are we only able to tell stories that we have experienced ourselves? Is it ok to try and embody another character and tell their story as an act of empathy and compassion? Can we separate the character of a person from the work they create?

This year’s lineup includes writer, journalist, broadcaster and descendent of Holocaust survivors, Ramona Koval; acclaimed queer Jewish writer, researcher & online editor at Archer Magazine, Roz Bellamy; nonfiction writer, poet, artist and high school teacher, Alice Chipkin; proud Birpai-Thungutti man, writer, journalist and senior editor for News Online at NITV, Jack Latimore; celebrated producer, artist, multi-instrumentalist and sometimes rapper, Joelistics; and multi-award-winning Zimbabwean writer and performance poet, Thabani Tshuma.

The evening will be moderated by queer, Jewish and Chinese woman of colour, Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg – an educator, facilitator, activist, performer, and a winner of Australia’s coveted 30 under 30 awards for LGBTQIA+ role models and leaders in 2020.

FOJAM Artistic Director, Lior Albeck-Ripka says,“We’re living in a time when the concept of ‘death of the author’ has come to mean cancelling an artist's body of work. At the same time, we are grappling with the injustices of the marginalised and how we move forward and equalise the way history is written, the way stories are told and who is telling whose story. It all feels important and complicated, but it can also feel stifling - especially in the world of creativity and art. Through this event we hope to unpack some of the nuance and hear directly from some of the artists grappling with their stories. ”

Taking place Wednesday 2 June at Howler in Brunswick, Spun Stories - Is This My Story To Tell? will also be broadcast live, available to stream online for up to four days following the event, wherever you are in the world. In-venue and online tickets are available now from the FOJAM website, but places are limited so don’t delay.

Doors: 7.30 pm
Digital Live Stream commences: 8.00 pm
Show duration: 8.15pm - 9.45pm

Roz Bellamy, Alice Chipkin, Ramona Koval, Jack Latimore, Thabani Tshuma, Joelistics and Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg