We are ArtNow
...a for-purpose community-based storytelling game of art installations, events, and DIY creativity kits that bring our best stories to life.
WE BELIEVE that the stories we tell shape our lives. And even more powerfully the stories we tell together as a community shape our world. The Secret Storyworld helps kids and families tell a better story to live a better life to create a better world.
WE PROVIDE a yearlong story landscape of monthly art installations, storygames, and events. These experiences give children and families the creative tools to use their imagination – rather than willpower – to build empowered habits for creativity, mindfulness, problem-solving, relationship-building, health, and more.
The Secret Storyworld
... is our storytelling platform that brings together readers, writers, and creators to change the world through stories.
Whether playing our StoryGames, sharing favorite stories, or teaming up for a community creating challenge; participants are guided through monthly Storyworld themes that provide the structure, community, and encouragement to find our voices, achieve creative goals, and explore new worlds—on and off the page.
Why? Co-opted by commercial interests, the web of stories that shape our world is broken, dividing us rather than uniting us. The Secret Storyworld puts the connective power of story back into the hands of families and communities. Using place-based learning and calendar-driven themes, we combine the power of local storytelling with mobile internet to re-empower how we read, create & share.
Anchoring stories in time and place gives families the power to change lives, communities, and ultimately the world.
The Secret Storyworld serves as a creative hub; hosting, inspiring, nurturing, and connecting creators. Our calendar-themed stories are anchored in growth mindset habits to help us discover and live our best lives. Inclusivity and diversity guide our offerings. Alongside The Secret Storyworld, we have crafted hands-on creativity kits that bring the story powers of wizards, superheroes, gnomes, and more into real life.
Our storygames explore how our thoughts direct our actions, and how our words shape our interactions. We investigate the effects we have on each other’s well-being, and the various characters we play in our community. This is how we Write the World one story at a time.
WE BELIEVE...
...that the stories we tell shape our lives. And that even more powerfully the stories we tell together as a community shape our world. The Secret Storyworld is: a storytelling platform to help kids and families tell a better story to live a better life to create a better world.
THE MISSION of the Secret Storyworld is to transform families from passive consumers of stories and products into active creators of their own narratives. This activation creates resilient families who can generate change in their lives and communities.
We help families tell life changing stories with a storytelling game based on the Storyspinner's Journey, a more team oriented variation of the Hero's Journey that bring stories to real life. Headquartered at TreeHouse Books, our monthly storytelling games includes reading lists, daily writing prompts, DIY art kits and community events.
A storytelling platform
to help kids & families
tell a better story
to live a better life
to create a better world.
Our project began as a middle reader book club requested by kids that wanted books for ‘real wizards.’ It has evolved into reading and writing games based in the bookstores, libraries, schools and businesses of Ashland, Oregon. Players are guided through the story genres of Science Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Fairy Tales and more with our story writing game board and video prompts to read and write a story in 30 days.
Each story genre includes an embedded social skill as part of the community game such as goal setting, positive psychology, fitness, project management, financial literacy and more. Our treasure hunts are organized around businesses and schools to encourage local community to support reading, writing and social change that is initiated through our children.
Monthly storygames begin and end with community parties. We have hosted weekly club meetings and monthly First Friday parties to introduce our reading and writing themes since the bookclub's inception. Monthly curated book lists round off our offerings.
THE CROSSROADS
We currently are testing our project in Ashland, Oregon and then will collaborate with other communities to create Secret Storyworlds and Book Clubs in bookstores and libraries throughout Oregon and beyond.
Your support would help us expand our games and work with local writers, artists, musicians, actors, craftspeople and software developersto bring our storytelling platform to life.
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WHEE THE PEOPLE!
The Secret Storyworld
Story & Community Event Producers: Jane Almquist & Cynthia Salbato of TreeHouse Books have produced 12 storygames, 12 DIY art kits & countless community events.
Technology: Dr. Matthew Beers is Principal Developer for Amazon and is building our software in service to children and our community.
Storyramas: Co-owner of River Lane Homes, Inc, Laura Knapp is using her skills as a builder and former Props artisan with Oregon Shakespeare Festival to co-create our monthly Story Diorama scenes. You can see these installations in the windows of Treehouse and other downtown buisnesses, and as the 'set' for many of our StoryWriting Prompts.
Art Direction: The founder of BookWise Design, Shannon Bodie has specialized in books, publishing and digital media for 20 years.
Most importantly, our community's schools, families and businesses play the heroes of our storytelling project
The Good Ship ArtNow
Art Now is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit multimedia arts instruction and community-based art organization.
Captain: Cynthia Salbato is a multimedia producer for regional PBS documentaries and series. In her work with Rogue Valley Community Television she has helped hundreds of community producers launch countless video programs.
First Mate: Patti Daley is the founder of Diamondtime, a mobile language arts game and a former educational game producer for GlobalEnglish. Her passion is using the power of language to generate focus and clarity.
Treasure Keeper: Laura Knapp is owner and CFO of River Lane Homes, Inc. A former Props artisan with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, when Laura is not counting our treasure she is building our Storyrama Art Installations.
Mapmaker: Jane Almquist , is owner of TreeHouse Books. Jane has created numerous businesses and product lines including Modern Faery, Wizard Apothecary, Tiny Treasures, and Ashlandia.
Pirate Crew: Christy Chow, Xander Collins, Jade Head, & Aaron Moffatt. The newest members of our board are young actors, writers, artists and filmmakers respectively. They are the future of ArtNow.
Pirate Mate: Business woman Suzanne Mathis McQueen sits on the board in the capacity of wise adviser for ArtNow.
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