Festival of Ideas: Redefine Your Riches!
Redefine your Riches! encourages us to think about the stuff we keep, consume or discard. Our campaign is part of the Festival of Ideas 2023. The Festival uses the power of puppetry to explore and impact the social issues of our time. Certainly, a current 21st century issue is our human relationship with STUFF.
With this campaign, we are calling on everyone to reflect, learn and act in response to our relations to materials. Show your impact!
- Commit to our 5 actions for 15 days
- Take a picture what you’ve done
- Send us and email at admin@wppuppet.com
- Share it at your social media platforms (Instagram or Facebook) and tag WP Puppet Theatre
- #festivalofideas!
We will make a video to showcase your impact so creativity is encouraged! Join us!
Redefine your Riches! Say “NO”!
The first rule to reduce overconsumption is to be conscious of our actions. Say “No”. Buy less. Replace fast purchasing with slow purchasing. Invest in things that will last instead of buying cheap items that will break or tear quickly. As it is that time of the year, beware of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Instead, give something on “Giving Tuesday”!
Redefine your Riches! Be artsy and make a puppet from materials to recycle!
We rely on resources in every aspect of our lives! From the food we eat, electricity we use, water we drink, clothes we wear; all require resources to be yielded. Being conscious of not wasting resources, the Festival features a puppet-making activity called “Puppets with Joy”. Joy is teaching how to make puppets from recyclable materials. Make a puppet and add it to our donation box for seniors during the holidays.
Find your hidden treasures and give them a new home!
Items you have been keeping for ages might be useful to others. Instead of letting them collect dust, why not sell, donate or swap them. Declutter your closet, bin or garage and help these items serve their purpose in their new homes with new owners! Check your local charities for donation sites.
Toy Room Donation for holiday season at the Women’s Center
https://www.womenscentrecalgary.org/donate/toy-room/
Dress for Success
Donate your gently used professional attire to Dress for Success. The mission of Dress for Success is to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
https://calgary.dressforsuccess.org/
Salvation Army
https://salvationarmy.ca/donations/
WINS
Women in Need Society (WINS) has been committed to helping people in need in Calgary through our community programs that provide basic needs, emotional support, and vital resources. These programs enable individuals to build resiliency that inspires them and their families to thrive. We are able to do this through revenues generated through our Thrift Stores and through the generous donations of Calgarians like you.
Freecycle
A grassroots and entirely nonprofit online platform for people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own Towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.
Redefine your Riches! Borrow or rent something that you need, share what you have!
When something is needed, instead of buying – borrow or rent. Borrow from neighbours, or friends and you will have some time to socialize as well! For common things that are needed, maybe you could start a sharing program within your community. Start by asking your community association and or check the Calgary Tool Library.
Calgary Tool Library
The Calgary Tool Library is a community tool sharing service that allows members to borrow domestic tools and equipment in exchange for a small annual fee.
https://calgarytoollibrary.org/
Banff Library of Things
Banff and Lake Louise residents are able to borrow a variety of items that are rarely used, hard to store, or are expensive, such as tools, cooking appliances and hobby items.
https://banff.ca/1216/Library-of-Things
Redefine your Riches! Continue to learn more and do more!
From the things we value the most to destigmatizing objects like diapers, we have a lot to reflect on regarding materials and our relations to them. We have an interesting resource section with videos, articles and news for you to dive into. Check them out and share your learnings with your friends!
Resources
Books & articles
The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance offers a wide-ranging perspective on how scholars and artists are currently re-evaluating the theoretical, historical, and theatrical significance of performance that embraces the agency of inanimate objects. This book proposes a collaborative, responsive model for broader artistic engagement in and with the material world.
Return to the Mound by Eleanor Margolies
How object animation can be used in live performances, specifically focusing on the manipulation of food and formless materials.? This article explores how food and clay can be used as performance materials, highlighting their sensory qualities and their ability to evoke emotions and associations. The document also discusses the role of food in performances, where it becomes a medium for storytelling and social interaction. There are examples of performances that challenge the fixed division between living and lifeless matter and offer alternative perspectives on consumption and material abundance.
Full article on: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315850115.ch28
Actor education, object animation and care by Riku Laakkonen and Pauliina Hulkko
One of the presenters at the Festival of Ideas, Riku Laakkonen and Pauliina Hulkko’s article about how vocational actor training could be challenged and developed through materially oriented object theatre to address questions of well-being.
From the pencil to the puppet to the drone—the humanities and the social sciences continue to ride a wave of interest in material culture and the world of things. How should we understand the force and figure of that wave as it shapes different disciplines? Other Things explores this question by considering a wide assortment of objects—from beach glass to cell phones, sneakers to skyscrapers—that have fascinated a range of writers and artists, including Virginia Woolf, Man Ray, Spike Lee, and Don DeLillo.
Other resources
Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff, started with an online documentary in 2007 which unleashed a torrent of pent-up demand for honest conversation about our consumption-crazed culture. In the decade plus, The Story of Stuff created many award-winning animated movies have garnered more than 50 million online views around the world and encouraged viewers to support hundreds of environmental projects and campaigns with their time, energy and money.
Food waste & best-before date vs. expiration date
Experts mark that best-before dates are widely misunderstood and mistaken by expiry date and to be more conscious and aware about this might help with food insecurity and waste. Depending on the food, best-before day do not necessarily mean you should throw the food away.
Full article on:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-best-before-dates-canada/
Mindful mending & repairing by Molly Martin
This article discusses how repairing items by hand enhances the experience and fosters a deeper connection to our belongings, promoting a more thoughtful approach to our clothes and the world we live in.
Full article on: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/01/mend-your-own-clothes-and-do-yourself-some-good-says-molly-martin