Eivazy, NairyP. L. Peeters, JanClaes, Sandy2023-05-312023-05-312023https://dl.eusset.eu/handle/20.500.12015/4729Diaspora communities, such as the Armenian, who lost their tangible connection to their homeland, tend to carry objects with them that are representative of their roots and create a sense of belonging. Stop-motion animation can bring objects into life through sequential photography. As the objects are manipulated by the animator, directly by touching, or indirectly by accidental physical contact, stop-motion is directly linked to the sense of touch and materiality. Through this, we believe the stop-motion animation process can evoke rich memories. In this paper, we report on an exploratory stop-motion workshop, which was organised in collaboration with five Armenian community members with no prior animation making experience. We learned how the participatory stop-motion animation approach evoked memories through its inherent connection to storytelling and tangible manipulation, and how the creative group process supports a sense of belonging that transcends self-representation and bridges different cultures.enAnimationMemoryObjectsParticipationDiasporaStop-motionText/Conference Paper10.1145/3593743.3593756