Stories give meaning to our world. For this to happen, they need to be kept alive by being present in our lives. The default “home” for stories has been the bookshelf. But we are reading fewer books, and many stories are now being generated by Large Language Models without human involvement. At the same time, our screens are flooded with ephemeral “stories” on social media.

Objects provide an enduring vehicle for stories. When carried by objects, we can make stories part of our lives. They are objects that we can wear, exchange as gifts, adorn our spaces, or help orchestrate important rituals, processions, and ceremonies.

Object makers play a critical role in keeping stories alive. In this symposium, we will hear from artists, makers, designers and thinker-makers about the stories they believe are important to tell and the objects that house those stories.

For more information, see https://garlandmag.com/the-storied-object-today/