GWEN HILARY

Chicago 312-203-2281ghilary@sbcglobal.net

Gwen Hilary & Enoch Williamson

Gwen Hilary and Enoch Williamson create an energetic fusion of music and the spoken word to engage the audience and get them “into” the stories. Songs, chants, rhythms and participation bring story characters to life. Experience the music and ancient rhythms of Africa as performed by Enoch Williamson, world renowned musician and performer on drums, shekere, and other instruments. Hear the storytelling that has inspired audiences in over 100 schools and public libraries and at venues such as the Art Institute, Children’s Museum, Swedish Museum, DuSable Museum, Chicago Botanic Gardens as well as the Illinois Storytelling Festival.

Gwen Hilary, former educator, librarian, and television show host, tells stories that educate and entertain audiences of all ages and cultures. Her vast repertoire includes stories on many themes but she focuses primarily on the history and folklore of African Americans. She specializes in stories that engage the audience and gets them “into” the stories. Songs, chants, rhythms and participation bring story characters to life and captivate listeners of all ages. For the past 20 years, she has performed for audiences in public and private schools, libraries and institutions, and cultural institutions. A special thrill was sharing stories in Australia at a storytelling conference held near Sydney and at a school in a village in Ghana, West Africa.

Programs and Workshops:

• Stories of Freedom! (Biddy Mason, Clotee Henley, and Henry Box Brown)
• Women who Achieved (Ida B. Wells, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Marion Anderson)
• Dragons, Dreams and Daring - (Stories of bravery, overcoming obstacles and achievement)
• Stories with a Big Splash (Stories and folk tales correlated with sea animals and ocean life)
• Stories and Lives - Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston and others
• Multicultural Folktales, Fairytales, and Legends
• Women Nobel Peace Prize Winners
• Juneteenth Celebration
• Anansi Stories
• A Taste of Chicago: Stories, Poems and History
• Celebrating Kwanzaa

• Workshop - Reading and Storytelling for Young Children
• Workshop - The Art of Storytelling “How to Techniques”