WATCH, TOUCH, PLAY, PUPPETS, ROBOTS AND PEOPLE
Come inside and discover a world of puppets and creatures beyond imagination.
15-16 September
10am-5pm
Unit 18 Albion Dockside Estate
Hanover Place, Bristol BS1 6UT
Free to attend
We are delighted to be participating in Bristol Open Doors again this year. We will be opening up our fabrication and rehearsal studio and showcasing the wonderful artists, makers and puppeteers who create some of the most innovative and loved performance experiences in the UK.
MUST BOOK
Our fabrication studio is an Aladdin’s cave of puppets, models and creative robotics. You can come and meet resident artists such as Rusty Squid who create extraordinary sensory experiences combining cutting edge robotics with a bespoke handcrafted puppetry approach and Pickled Image who tour the world presenting unforgettable puppetry performances for all ages including Bristol favourites Santa’s Little Trolls and Coulrophobia. There will be an opportunity to find out more about the set and prop design from resident designers and model makers Max Dorey, Rebecca Wood and Sophie Clayton.
We will be running tours of our workshop at the following times:
10 am / 10:40 am / 11:20 am / 12 pm / 1:15 pm / 1:55 pm / 2:35 pm / 3:15 pm / 4 pm
In order to join a tour of our workshop you will need to book a slot through our online booking system (at the bottom of this page). Tours will take approximately 30 mins.
DROP IN
In our rehearsal studio we are delighted to be profiling the work of The Moving Object Group, many of whom are associate artists at Puppet Place. This exhibition features short performances, mischievous robots, shadow puppetry and photography and (weather dependent) there may be a slight invasion of giant inflatable tentacles or triffids! This is a great chance to meet artists and creative technologists who are developing new work and projects and welcome the opportunity to share their ideas and projects at an early stage.
For your chance to create a puppet inspired by our waterside location, join a pop up puppet workshop for children and their families from 10 am to 12 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 1 pm on Sunday. This activity will be taking place in the Puppet Place yard or will be tucked away in our secret workshop space if the weather is against us!
We very much look forward to welcoming you to Puppet Place!
For further information about Puppet Place including accessibility information please call
0117 929 3593 or email info@puppetplace.org
FEATURED ARTISTS
Rusty Squid – robotic art and design | www.rustysquid.org.uk
Pickled Image – award winning puppetry company | www.pickledimage.co.uk
Max Dorey – multi award nominated theatre designer who works across the UK | https://www.maxdorey.com/
Rebecca Wood – designer for performance working across the UK | https://www.rebeccajanewood.com/
Sophie Clayton – designer and model maker
Lizzie Johnson – model maker, animator and workshop leader | Interview with Lizzie Johnson
The Moving Object Group
Tom McDonagh
Hanna Habermann – puppet maker, designer and artist | https://www.habermann-design.de/
Nick Willsher – fabricator and creative technologist exploring the anthropomorphisation of objects | https://niklaas.co.uk/
Jennifer Dingwall – an illustrator working with stop motion animation | jenuinely_jen
Otherstory – tell the stories of the outsiders and the powerless through puppetry | https://otherstory.org/taking-a-holiday
Richard Sewell – currently exploring some ideas about actuated inflatable objects and their interactions with an audience.
Mogshade- New company specialising in robotics, animatronics and puppets | Mogshade on Youtube
Please note featured artists are subject to change.
PLANNING YOUR VISIT
The Moving Object Exhibition in the Rehearsal Studio is open throughout the day on a drop-in basis.
Puppet making workshops for families are running between 10 am to 12 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 1 pm on Sunday. There is no need to book this activity, just turn up.
Visits to the Fabrication Studio are limited to 30 minutes and 20 people per visit maximum. We strongly advise booking in advance to guarantee your place. Please book below:
Getting to Puppet Place
Puppet Place is located on Hanover Place on the right side of the street from Cumberland Rd direction. We are in a large stone wall with “No Parking” painted on the side. Follow the wall to the end and turn right, you will see our rehearsal studio with blue painted frontage. We are unable to offer parking to visitors; there is metered parking on the streets nearby or a large Pay and Display car park by the SS Great Britain. If you are travelling by bus you can catch the M2 Metrobus service and alight at the SS Great Britain stop.
Puppet Place Open Doors is part of Bristol Open Doors, produced by the Architecture Centre.
Discover heritage spaces,forgotten places and innovative design. For full details visit
Instagram @BrisOpenDoors
Twitter @BrisOpenDoors
Facebook /BrisOpenDoors