Luana’s stories

Stories of what we create, carry, and pass on together

Luana Ferreira is the host of the Muse Area at Amsterdam Roots Festival, where she will be telling stories throughout the day in line with the festival theme Cultural Commons. Drawing from her Brazilian-Dutch background and her practice at the intersection of film, performance and oral storytelling, she connects classic tales with contemporary questions about value, community and shared ownership.

During her performances, she weaves together three timeless stories with ideas about shared ownership and questions of what value and collectivity mean. In Stone Soup, a communal meal emerges as everyone contributes – a story about how value grows through sharing. King Midas shows the opposite: when everything turns to gold, it loses its meaning. In The Bell of Atri, a forgotten bell reminds a community that some values only endure when they are collectively upheld and protected. Drawing on the work of Adam Smith, Ferreira shows that true prosperity cannot exist without empathy, trust and care for one another.

Her performances are also an invitation to build a strong community around Amsterdam Roots Festival, so that it can remain free and accessible to all, while continuing to offer a platform for makers and traditions from around the world.