Storyscapes Festival 2026
Stories as Community
Beginning 26 September 2026
Studio 88 Artist Residency, Doi Saket, Chiang Mai
Stories help us understand where we come from, encounter lives different from our own, and find common ground.
Storyscapes Festival 2026 explores the theme Stories as Community: how stories carry knowledge and culture, shape identity and belonging, and bring people together across different backgrounds and generations.
The festival begins on 26 September with Gathering of Stories, its principal public event. It continues with Guardians of Phaya Luang, an immersive story adventure created especially for young children, alongside further activities during the festival period.
Gathering of Stories
A day for people to come together through stories
26 September 2026
9:30 AM–4:00 PM
Studio 88 Artist Residency, Doi Saket
Gathering of Stories brings artists, storytellers, educators, performers and members of the public together to explore how stories create connection, understanding and belonging.
Through talks, storytelling, performance, film and creative encounters, contributors will approach Stories as Community from different perspectives. Visitors will also have time to wander through Story Village, meet one another and encounter stories beyond the main gathering space.
Come to listen, discover, exchange ideas and spend time with others.
The day at a glance
Morning: Stories, place and community
The morning programme brings together folklore, cultural history, and community in Northern Thailand.
It will include a keynote on Stories as Community, a folklore storytelling performance, individual presentations and a shared conversation among contributors.
Lunch in Story Village
Lunch is deliberately spacious, leaving time to eat, meet people and explore Story Village. Creative contributions and informal encounters will continue around the Village.
Afternoon: Stories across the Village
During the afternoon, three contributors will each take up a place within Story Village and share a presentation, performance or creative encounter.
These encounters will repeat approximately every 20 minutes. Visitors can move between them at their own pace, choosing when to listen, where to stay and what to discover.
The day will conclude with a Circle of Stories, bringing contributors and audience together for an open exchange shaped by what has been encountered during the day.
A detailed programme and contributor announcements will be added as they are confirmed.
Tickets
Early Bird: THB 188 until 16 September
Standard: THB 248
Each ticket includes one complimentary drink and food coupon.
Register for Gathering of Stories using the QR code
Enter Story Village
For Gathering of Stories, Studio 88 becomes Story Village: a temporary environment where stories can be encountered in different ways.
Visitors are invited to:
listen → wander → encounter → participate → talk → stay
Some stories will be shared through talks and performances. Others may be found in objects, images, sounds, conversations or traces left around the Village.
Story Village draws on Studio 88’s natural surroundings and its place within the Tai Lue cultural landscape of Doi Saket.
It is a place that becomes richer through the people who enter it and what they contribute.
Guardians of Phaya Luang
Guardians of Phaya Luang is Storyscapes Festival’s dedicated children’s programme, an immersive story adventure, taking place on a separate date from Gathering of Stories.
Rooted in the cultural landscape of Doi Saket, the programme draws on local stories of Phaya Luang, a mysterious guardian associated with sky, rain, water, land and community.
Children enter a physical story-world and become Guardians. Following traces through sky, rain, water, land and village, they touch, carry, arrange, build, imagine and discover.
Along the way, they encounter fragments connected to Phaya Luang and a story with a missing ending.
Through play and action, the children continue the story themselves.
The programme includes genuine breaks, free play and quieter ways of taking part. Children are supported in small Guardian Groups, with a maximum of 12 participants in the first edition.
Age: 4–7, designed mainly for ages 5–7
Duration: Five hours, including lunch provided
Places: Maximum 12 children
Date and registration details will be announced soon.
About Phaya Luang
Stories of Phaya Luang are closely connected to Mueang Luang Nuea and the Tai Lue cultural landscape of Doi Saket.
Local tradition associates Phaya Luang with the coming of rain and the relationship between:
Sky → Rain → Water → Land → People
Phaya Luang is remembered as a benevolent presence connected with protection, prosperity and the wellbeing of the community.
Storyscapes approaches these stories with respect for their connection to place while leaving room for imagination, interpretation and new encounters.
Visiting Studio 88
Storyscapes Festival takes place at Studio 88 Artist Residency in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai.
Gathering of Stories and Guardians of Phaya Luang will take place across indoor, sheltered and outdoor areas. Comfortable clothing and footwear are recommended.
Further visitor information will be provided with registration.
Follow the Story
Further contributors, activities and festival dates will be announced as Storyscapes develops.
Leave us your contact details to receive programme announcements and registration updates.
Studio 88 Artist Residency 