Bringing Hawai'i plays and traditions to the desert stage
In Hawai'i, "talk story" refers to informal, conversational storytelling, often involving the sharing of personal experiences, family history, and local legends.
It's a way to connect with others, build community, and pass down cultural knowledge. The phrase is a Hawaiian Pidgin expression that goes beyond casual conversation, fostering deeper connections through shared narratives.
Our Mission
Talk Story Collective is a multimedia storytelling organization dedicated to celebrating the voices and talent of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), Pacific Islanders, and creatives with ties to Hawai‛i.
As our communities find themselves in diaspora, Talk Story Collective creates spaces for creatives to bring traditional language, culture, and storytelling modalities to public spaces.
We invite all storytellers–writers, performers, film makers, dancers, cultural practitioners, arts educators and more–to bring your craft to our Talk Story Collective.
Our Vision
Talk Story Collective exists to uplift, perpetuate, and support the voices, talents, and perspectives of Kanaka Maoli, Pacific Islanders and Communities with connections to Hawai’i through storytelling, workshops, and multimedia modalities.
About us
Talk Story Collective was created out of our deeply rooted connection to Hawai‛i and experience being raised there. This inspires us to honor its history by prioritizing Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and Pacific Islander stories first in order to preserve them, while embodying cultures that reflect modern day Hawai‛i.
Our collective leadership resides in cities across the continent. We aspire to establish chapters in many cities to expand Talk Story Collective’s network and reach.
Meet the team
Christina Uyeno
Producer + Partnerships
Kelsey Baehrens
Producer + Education Coordinator
Wainani Paikai
Producer + Stage Manager
Previous Events
Chief of War Talk Story
A special event held at the Marjorie Barrick Art Museum, our Chief of War talk story featured our incredible panelists Kumu Vincent Iokimo Souza, Kumu Kahikilani Alana, Kumu Aureana Tseu, Ka‛iulani Odom and Leighton Kā‛onohi sharing beautiful things with our incredible audience.
Hawaii Talk Story
Hawai‛i Talk Story was a unique live performance event that showcased Hawai‛i playwrights and provided opportunities for talent with Hawai‛i ties to tell their stories. As more of our community find themselves in diaspora, we hope to bring familiar stories, language, and traditional storytelling to many different stages.
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