Banana In The Moon is the work of artist Anna Shiels, a Bournemouth-based artist with over 30 years experience working creatively with people.
Storytelling and puppetry
I create bespoke and original stories.
At times these are wordless stories that use simple imagery and puppetry to convey narrative. At other times, my spoken word stories utilise evocative language, and further engage the audience through opportunities to participate, for example in playing characters, creating sound effects or in playful ‘call and response’.
I am inspired by nature and this is often evident in my storytelling.
“Anna’s storytelling is enchanting, conjuring magical worlds in our imaginations. She is thoroughly engaging as she elicits enthusiastic participation across the audience.”
Martha Searle,
Community and Engagement Lead, Talbot Village Trust
Image: Talbot Village Trust
Community engagement
Through my community work I invite you to pause, take notice, be curious, and play.
I am passionate about the ability of the arts and creativity to build resilience, aid recovery, improve quality of life, to connect people and to help us to make sense of our experiences.
Workshops and training
I am a confident and experienced workshop leader, highly skilled in supporting participants to explore art-making as a means of reconnecting with themselves; maintaining mental health and emotional wellbeing.
I work as a trainer and mentor for artists, leading professional development courses and supporting artists who face barriers.
“Anna is excellent at supporting everyone and understands how to enable participation. She can be relied on to always find the right words.”
Course participant
“Anna is a pleasure to work with through the preparation stages. She is highly organised, generously shares her range of experience and her expertise is very apparent. I can highly recommend her as a storyteller and collaborator.”
Martha Searle, Community and Engagement Lead, Talbot Village Trust
Image: Talbot Village Trust