Book Jan Bee Brown
Living on Shetland Jan is inspired by a sense of place and loves telling stories of tall ships and singing songs of the sea. Jan is passionate about inclusion and the power of story and song in the community and care settings.
Introduced to the power of storytelling during her year as Reader in Residence with the Scottish Book Trust in Falkirk libraries in 2015 and her story apprenticeship Jan continues to develop intergenerational storytelling with diverse audiences and families. Jan was awarded the Andy Hunter Bursary in 2019 to work with The Circus Storytellers in Dundee to develop A Whale’s Tale.
In 2021 Jan spent a year working on the frontline in a Care Home where she further developed her interest in working creatively with people living with dementia. Jan also worked with The Scottish Fisheries Museum creating stories for their Gansey Website and was the Resident Storyteller on the virtual RowAround Scotland for the SCRA 2019/2022. Jan regularly collaborates with percussionist Renzo Spiteri on live events and workshops: Leviathan for the SISF 2022 and Nordic Nights in 2021 on Shetland. Jan worked online with the Gigha Community Trust during lockdown on their Our Island Gigha creative writing project. She is the Skipper of two shanty choirs, the dementia-friendly Shalder Shanty Singers on Shetland and the Dreadnought Shanty Crew and is a regular contributor at the Oban Shanty Festival.
As a collaborative artist Jan helps diverse communities tell their own story through creative projects and story walks. She has developed and managed bespoke outreach storytelling events with a range of partners, museums and galleries including The National Library of Scotland, City Art Gallery, The Dovecot, Trinity House and The Museum of Edinburgh. Jan has been commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery, London as the Scottish artist on National Memories – Local Stories and curated 7 of the Seventh for the HLF Gretna 100 commemoration with Citizen Curator at Out of The Blue Drill Hall.
Twitter @janbeebrown
FB @setsailwithstories
