From the Information Age to the Narrative Age

If story is the primary tool of meaning-making available to human beings, then storytelling has witnessed a significant growth of interest in recent years across a range of sectors. This most ancient of art forms has, most interestingly, been particularly affected by the emergence of new, digital technologies, as users transform machines that were designed for the exchange of information into environments that create new forms of storytelling. This has been particularly evident in the field of heritage where the accessibility of information and the availability of technology has made it easier for people to collect, curate and share their own stories in ways that were previously not possible. This is turn has presented key challenges to the way we understand heritage and the roles of museums and curators. This presentation will consider these changes and look at some examples of heritage projects that have used digital storytelling as a way of re-examining the conventional models for heritage, asking if we are moving from an Information Age to a Narrative Age and, if so, how might museums respond to this changing social environment.