Workshop: How to Get Started with Stories in the Classroom

Kamini Ramachandran is a pioneer in the field of oral storytelling in Asia. Through her work with MoonShadow Stories, she is known for promoting storytelling for adult audiences. She founded The Storytelling Centre Limited to advance the art of storytelling through the Young Storytellers Mentorship Programme, and embarked upon the inaugural Junior Storytellers Mentorship earlier this year. She is also creative producer of StoryFest Singapore.

Known for her site-specific storytelling experiences, she has produced story tours, story walks and immersive storytelling experiences that breathe life into cultural and heritage spaces. Her SIFA commission, The Hidden, saw her activate The Armenian Church heritage monument with indoor and outdoor storytelling; she produced In Search of the Gelam Tree combining walking tours, visits to heritage spaces, and stories that culminated with a traditional meal; she has designed in-gallery and object-based storytelling programmes for museums like ACM, NMS and IHC, and recently produced Artefacts Alive! for Children’s Season 2022; she is currently the storyteller for National Gallery Singapore Children’s Biennale.

Her work with ARTWALK Little India spans almost a decade designing story-based experiences within various areas of the Little India precinct, to connect visitors to Indian culture and appreciate the nuances of our multicultural society.

She has developed storytelling courses for NHB on museum-based learning for docents and educators, and has conducted workshops for STB’s Passion Made Possible ambassador guides.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts with a BA (Hons) English Language & Literature from the University of Reading (UK) and a MA Arts Pedagogy & Practice from Goldsmith’s, University of London (UK). A respected teaching artist, she is a specialist storytelling lecturer for tertiary level programmes in Communications Studies, Arts Management, Art Therapy and Performing Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts. She also designed and has taught the module on ‘Narrative & Storytelling’ for the Expressive Arts Postgraduate Diploma at Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Kamini is a founding member of the Singapore Teaching Artist Collective and recently presented When a Story is More than a Story at the 6th International Teaching Artist Conference. She is the mentor for the Asia-Europe Foundation and CASA-Asia (Spain) Virtual Residency on ‘Arts X Climate Change’; a resource panellist and mentor for NAC and LASALLE Community Arts residency programmes; as well as a mentor for LASALLE’s Alumni Mentorship Programme.

A Singapore International Foundation Fellow (2022-2023), and an artist at the 136 Goethe Lab Residency (2023), her love of stories has seen her expand her practice as story consultant for The Singapore Pavilion at EXPO Dubai 2020, and as guest experience consultant for Avatar - The Experience at Gardens by the Bay.

A core member of the SDEA Sub-Committee on Advocacy, Kamini’s interests are in safeguarding of children in the arts, and in best practices for freelance arts educators. She was also a part of the focus group for NAC’s Arts Education Competency Framework.