Storytelling Night: Lost in Translation
Marres x PREMIUM Maastricht University
Join us on June 2nd at the Marres city garden for an intimate evening of storytelling, reflection and collective listening centered around the theme “Lost in Translation”.
Through personal stories shared in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, this storytelling night invites guests to gather, slow down, and experience the power of shared narratives and community.
Date: Tuesday 2 June, 2026
Time: Doors open at 19:00
Event starts at 19:30 and ends at 21:30
Location: Marres city garden
(Check in at the reception, accessible through the front door of Marres)
The evening will include a series of live stories, moments of conversation, and small snacks and drinks.
The event is free to attend, but capacity is limited, so registration is required to reserve your spot. The event will be fully in English.
Open mic for storytelling will also be available. We’d love to welcome you there!
Storytellers:
Vladyslava Sylenok
Vladyslava (Vlada) Sylenok is a person who discovered one day through the feedback of other creatives that the notes she types in her iPhone are, apparently, quite poetic.
Since then, she has come to an agreement with her inner critic that she is, in fact, artistic, and has written around 15 to 20 poems, 5 to 7 texts, and 2 or 3 short stories.
The stories and texts, however, have been untouched for a while, waiting for their time to be edited and eventually post on Substack. Precise wording and short-form writing come most naturally to her — possibly because of some presence of neurodivergent traits.
Currently, she is searching for her style and voice whilst thinking, speaking, and writing in four languages. Her art comes from navigating life on the border between her post-Soviet upbringing, contemporary Ukrainian culture still in the making, and the Western world she once longed for, and the one that suddenly fell upon her four years ago.
Lavinia Gennari
Lavinia Gennari is a third year student at Maastricht University where she majored in sociology, literature, and gender studies. Apart from her studies, she is really passionate about writing, poems in particular.
Dorus Mokkink
Someone on a path which unfolds as I take the steps. Lover of life, the arts, silence, nature and fire.
Speaker
Hello, I am a twenty-three year old, Persian Iranian, Dutch born, woman, studying Psychology at the UM. And truthfully, I have felt lost in translation my whole life. In my short story I’ll touch on my current understanding of it, considering the state of our world :,)
Oumaima Belkhdar
Oumaima Belkhdar is a spoken word artist and writer who creates experimental, genre-defying work. Her absurdist writing often explores alternative realities and focuses on the gray area between social positions and identity. Recurring themes in her work include time travel, mental health, (post)colonialism, and internet culture.
Oumaima is a former resident at deBuren and the National Theatre of Greece, has performed on a variety of stages, and has published work in, among others, De Revisor. She is currently working on her first two theatre pieces and a novel.
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