Story House Ithaca fosters community through events and workshops open to the public

Story House Ithaca (SHI), a community arts organization, uses storytelling as a way to build community.

Jonathan Miller and Lesley Greene, co-directors of SHI, founded the organization to provide a new way to share all kinds of stories in the Ithaca area, functioning as an outlet to build relationships and community among all people.

What is Story House?

The idea for SHI came from Miller’s trip to the Netherlands, where he discovered Story House Belvédère.

That story house comprises a group of documentarians and photographers who opened their apartment space to the public and now holds over 400 events each year.

Miller said he loved the idea of organizing events around sharing, documenting and learning to tell stories.

“That really struck a chord with me,” Miller said. “I decided we need one of those in Ithaca.”

Greene said that Ithaca is a perfect city for SHI.

“I think it’s a great spot for it because it’s a community that really is interested in learning and sharing and engaging with each other,” Greene said.

Miller said storytelling impacts both his personal and professional lives.

“When we decided to create an organization based on the narrative arts, that was tapping into this idea that there are lots of different ways to tell a story,” Miller said.

SHI celebrated its first birthday in October. Although work began prior, this marks when SHI joined the Center for Transformative Action (CTA), which supports change makers in creating community.

In the past year, SHI has held over 40 events.

Story Night

Greene said Story Night is the purest form of storytelling that SHI currently offers.

West Lalanne, host of Story Night, said they came to Ithaca right as the pandemic hit in March 2020, and wanted to explore what they could do in the community this year.

Story Night with Lalanne was held Nov. 18 at Southside Community Center. Every story night has a different theme, host and feel.

“I loved the stories that I heard,” Lalanne said. “I love that we had such a large age range of storytellers, we had storytellers who were black and POC, we had funny stories, we had a sad story.”

Lalanne said that Ithaca, like the rest of the country, is still in a reconstruction period after the pandemic.

“We’re rebuilding after unprecedented times,” Lalanne said. “We’re still in unprecedented times … and I think I have made it a point to be a part of Ithaca’s reconstruction.”

Kenneth McLaurin, advisory board member for SHI, and his wife, Elbonee “SingTrece,” both told stories at Story Night.

“[Storytelling is] a way that I can share my experience with you and now you have more to add to what you know about the world,” McLaurin said. “Through stories we are able to bring people together and build community and learn more about each other.”

What’s next?

Although the name Story House implies a physical space, the organization does not currently have its own place.

Miller and Greene said they would love to have a space but are unsure when that will happen.

“The idea of having a central, welcoming place where lots of activities can happen is really something that interests us a lot,” Greene said.

Three main projects are on the horizon for SHI: Behind the Wall, Stages of Life and Beyond Black Panther Film Festival.

Community members can pitch ideas on the SHI website for future events and programs.

“We just try to help people make things happen,” Miller said.