.png){kind=logo}
Dates:
13 - 17 MARCH '2024
STORYTELLERS RESIDENCY | ODISHA
5 Days x 12 Storytellers
Experience: legacy x heritage x artisan culture
A first of its kind impact storytelling and creative exchange program
Experience a captivating way to explore the rich cultural heritage, mythology, and historical significance of the state. An opportunity to delve into the fascinating narratives that have shaped Odisha and continue to inspire generations.
​
The Impact Society Storytellers Residency is India's first impact storytelling program designed to discover and document untold stories and perspectives, guided by mentorship and culture exchange, with a collective of change-makers.
Experience a program designed for authentic explorations, storytelling mentorship and perspective sharing with a collective of change-makers, artists and leaders.
At the residency, we discover untold stories, unlearn the art of impact storytelling through narrative building & perspective sharing, gain insights from professionals and travel to meet a collective of inspiring storytellers.
​
A storytelling experiment, where we examine ideas and narratives through nature explorations, field visits, community exchange, creative break-throughs, photography/film showcases, and discussions with fellow storytellers.
The Flow
A one-of-a-kind storytelling experience with exposure to the leading minds in the field, our residency is heroed by inspiring storytellers who will guide you to open your minds to diverse forms of storytelling and leadership.
A day to engage in meaningful dialogue, introductions
and sharing a circle of stories with the collective.
Led by Impact Storytellers
Shashwat Das
Director, filmmaker & photographer
Shashwat Das is a documentary filmmaker hailing from Delhi, specializing in the realms of
culture, history and environmental subjects. He boasts a rich portfolio of collaborations with esteemed brands such as Good Earth, Qualcomm Wireless Communications, Rajasthan Tourism, Incredible India, and the Melinda Gates Foundation
​
His work reach extends to partnerships with international news agencies like DW, ChinaDaily, Turkish Radio Television, and the United Nations. Along with which Shashwat has also conducted talks in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
​
When he's not immersed in the world of documentary filmmaking, Shashwat Das finds solace and joy in the exhilarating world of motorcycling, adding an adventurous edge to his multifaceted personality.
Stay at The Belgadia Palace
A legacy that withstood the sand of time....
Tucked away in the quaint heritage town of Baripada in Mayurbhanj, Odisha, the Palace is a beautiful piece of Kalinga history that redefines the idea of a hotel, and is 4-5 hours from the state capital of Odisha, Bengal and Jharkhand.
​
Built in the 1800s in the Victorian architectural style with elements of Georgian decor, it was envisioned as a property for visiting foreign dignitaries, guests of the royal family of Mayurbhanj.
​
During the merger of the princely state to the Union of India, the property was titled palace as to pay homage to the royal family that moved into it post independence as their primary residence.
Gallery
Join a collective of change-makers on this unique journey
Oishimaya Sen
Conservation Writer
Johann Binny Kuruvilla
Storyteller - Kochi Heritage Project
Amit Srivastava
Author & Travel Photographer
Manish Saksena
Lead Advisor Aadyam Handwoven and Retail Consultant (TH/CK/Arrow)
Akshay Bapat
Documentary Filmmaker
Kavya Narayanan
Biologist & Science Journalist
What happens
at the Residency?
The residency offers a new perspective on the power of storytelling, and the people who tell them. From workshops with visiting artists and experts to outdoor exploration, every day of the retreat presents a new and intense challenge and is a week-long discovery of modes of storytelling, explored through the lens of language, connection, perception, and place.
​
At this residency, we will examine ideas and expectations through exercises, visits, research, readings, and discussions on the works of several artists, architects, designers, writers, and poets with the help of guest teachers on different days.
Why should
you attend?
Storytellers are a part of continuum. We work as links between generations, sowing seeds of renewal, steering conversation, expanding constructs. Our central hope should always be propagation.
​
The program is designed to guide participants toward their goals - from finding fresher perspectives to pivoting or changing direction completely, participants can hope to renew their practices and create new patterns for growth.
Who is it
curated for?
An introspective journey of examination and growth, the Storytellers Residency is designed to reconnect you with your most powerful tools as a storyteller - Your Environment, Body, and Self.
​
A multi-disciplinary gathering of creatives and storytellers, the residency hopes to reorient the participants in their practice by exploring the relational aspects of interiority and artistic expression and encourage a shift from fixed perception to fluidity. By studying the sensate and the undulations of land, time and memory, we will engage with our own rhythms that can inform stories.
How does it
empower me?
With the goal of orienting and reorienting ourselves in our art forms, the residency is geared towards eliminating binaries and fixed notions to piece together new pathways and possibilities of navigation for our lived experience.
​
We invite you to ponder the dimensions of self, its projections and extensions, and ways we can strive toward rooted practice.
TRAVEL, INVESTMENTS, FAQ's
Experience Snapshot
Handpicked & Curated Explorations
Discover nomadic folktales, heritage art, environmental co-existence and culture through our thoughtfully picked authentic trails.
Exchange Traditional Knowledge
Immersions designed to help you delve into storytelling in a way that embraces local knowledge systems, and communities.
Travel with a Collective
The Impact Society residencies connects you with a resonating and conscious tribe that yearns to unlearn and explore storytelling with impact.
Learn from
Fellow Storytellers
A carefully built agenda of walks, talks and workshops with inspiring change-makers and local leaders puts you on the path to re-learn the art of storytelling and narrative building.
Immerse in settings connected to local impact
Our residencies are hosted at chosen properties that are shaping social reform, community exchange and positive impact in their regions.
Explore Collaborations
Designed as an explorative journey where you get to exchange thoughts, ideas and collaborate with a like-minded community to co-create Impact.
AUTHENTICALLY DESIGNED FOR CREATIVE EXPLORATION & KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE
Over 7 storytelling editions, a travel summit and the wilderness festival, we have hosted some of the finest storytelling mentors, worked on photo projects with local NGO's, documented local issues and have explored some of the most breath-taking & unexplored landscapes, from the vision of discovering life through the lens.
​
Films and photographs have the ability to engage us both emotionally as well as socially. By incorporating scientific research and relevant themes into films, there is potential for the creation of a new dimension to the spread of scientific ideas by sparkling citizen interest and simultaneously inspiring audiences to further engage in broader discussions on the issue itself.
.png){kind=logo}
We work at the intersection of creative exploration and impact storytelling. Fostering the use of photography, films and art to fuel environmental, cultural and social change.
A melting pot of inspirational storytellers getting together with keen seekers for the cause of building sustainable futures. A space where each attendee, creator, travel brand, conservationist or adventurer is a key influencer towards achieving a sustainable and collaborative way forward.
Check our Instagram
Wilderness Festival
Explorers Summit
