Mark Your Calendars, World Puppetry Day is March 21st

This Sunday, March 21st is World Puppetry Day! This day celebrates the creativity, diversity and much more in the art of puppetry.

UNIMA typically has a new poster and a statement each year for World Puppetry Day. This year’s poster is by Maryam Samaan and demonstrates the movement in puppets. In reference to the poster, Samaan said “Our stories have more than a beginning, much more than a destiny. Some of them remain suspended and motionless, while others have fallen away without any explanation. But there are always those that continue to sway in the void to create movement.”

A quote from the larger statement for World Puppetry Day this year is from Audrey Azoulay about how puppetry has evolved over time:

“To paraphrase Paul Claudel, puppets are words which act. Puppets, through this actual narration, can embody the everyday just as well as they can bring to life tales and stories from long ago. An inestimable manifestation of heritage, the art of puppetry – whether the puppets are part of a solemn ritual or set against a modern-day backdrop – is also utterly contemporary.”

Azoulay continues on to discuss the art of puppetry and the current challenges due to the pandemic. Read the whole statement here.

Still wondering about World Puppetry Day? Who else could be better to explain it than puppets themselves?! Watch this video below:

There are many events happening for world puppetry day! Follow us on social media for shared events and see more on the UNIMA website.