Make participation part of the program.

Libraries, community centers, and cultural organizations need experiences that give people a meaningful way to contribute.

At Cambridge KiOSK in Harvard Square, JKS developed a participatory sound and storytelling experience around identity, belonging, and personal perspective.

Project

Creative Identity Lab: Sound, Story & Self

Services

Experience design, facilitation, prompts, and audio capture

Community storytelling sessions start at $2,400.

The problem: an invitation alone doesn’t create participation

People arrive with different levels of confidence, different stories, and different amounts of time.

A public program needs a clear invitation and an approachable way to take part. The host organization also needs someone to manage the activity, equipment, and conversations while keeping the experience moving.

The strategy: make the creative process approachable

JKS developed a drop-in format combining guided prompts, interviews, voice recording, and creative facilitation.

Portable equipment supported the activity without making the technology the center of attention. John guided participants into conversations connected to identity and place.

The format brought the concept, recording process, and public interaction into one facilitated experience.

What JKS delivered

  • A participatory storytelling concept.

  • Conversation and interview prompts.

  • A portable recording workflow.

  • Audio capture and live facilitation.

  • Creative direction for the activity.

The outcome

Visitors contributed personal perspectives through conversation and audio storytelling in a public creative setting.

The documented result is participation in the experience. A published archive, recurring program, or measured change in community engagement would be a separate outcome to develop and evaluate.

Where this can lead: visibility, growth, and support

Visibility

Make local perspectives part of public programming.

Growth

Establish a format that can develop into recurring sessions or a broader storytelling initiative.

Support

Give participants a guided way to contribute and give program staff a production partner.

Future evaluation could include participation, voluntary feedback, repeat attendance, and the number of recordings participants authorize for further use.

Start with a defined project

Facilitated storytelling session — starting at $2,400

Includes one planning session, a tailored prompt set, one facilitator, portable audio equipment, up to four hours of activity at one host-provided location, and organized recordings with a session summary.

An edited listening collection, extensive transcription, additional facilitators, installation equipment, and further sessions are separate production stages.

Your next step

Tell us who you want to bring together, what you want them to explore, and where the experience will take place.

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