History and art
come together in the Center
for Puppetry Arts’ newest exhibit, Indian Puppets: The Great
Stories and Dancing Dolls, opening November 14.
The special exhibit will celebrate India’s cultural range by exploring
the diversity of puppetry techniques and genres across the subcontinent
along with the ways puppetry has been used as a storytelling tool in
India for more than a thousand years.
“One of the main reasons we chose to highlight Indian
puppetry is because, in addition to more historical puppetry traditions,
India also has a thriving contemporary arts community with puppeteers
creating engaging new work,” says Center for Puppetry Arts’ Museum
Director Kelsey Fritz. “Puppetry in India is incredibly diverse and
each region of the country has performance traditions and stories
specific to their area. We hope that by learning about these different
puppetry traditions, visitors will walk away with a better
understanding of Indian culture and geography as a whole.”
The exhibit is comprised of more than 40 puppets on
display including both traditional and contemporary pieces, covering
eight different puppetry styles. The puppets will be displayed as if
they were being used in a performance so visitors can get a sense for
the mobility and personality of each piece.
This exhibit is sponsored in part by the Consulate
General of India Atlanta and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations
and will be on display through July
15, 2018.
The Center will be celebrating the run of the exhibit
with a number of special events. To kick off opening weekend, November 18-19,
Museum hours will be extended until 7 p.m., and the weekend will include
a special performance of Kalyana
Sougandhikam by Natana Kairali of Kerala, India, at 5:30 p.m. on
both Saturday and Sunday. The story is from the Mahabharata and
is performed with traditional Indian glove puppetry.
On Saturday,
January 20, 2018, the Center presents Celebration of India Family
Day! The event will include special activities to celebrate
Indian puppetry and culture, including a reading of “The Wheels on the
Tuk Tuk” and book signing with author Sue Sehgal as well as puppet
building, special gallery programs, and more!
The Center presents a special movie night on Saturday, February 3, 2018. In addition to the screening of Tomorrow
We Disappear, a documentary about Kathputli, India’s colony
of artists and puppeteers facing eviction, there will be a talkback
with one of the film’s directors following the film at 8 pm.
Finally, on March
26, 2018, Dr. Kathy Foley and Karen Smith, the curators
of Indian Puppets:
The Great Stories and Dancing Dolls, will visit the Center
for an in-depth lecture about the puppetry of India, part of the
Explore Puppetry Workshop Series
from 7-9 p.m.
Entrance to this special exhibit will be included with
regular Museum admission, which is free for Members and $12.50 for nonmembers – plus sales tax and
includes access to the entire Worlds
of Puppetry Museum (with the largest collection of Jim
Henson puppets and artifacts in the world as well as a Global Gallery.) Admission to the special exhibit will also be included with
all-inclusive tickets to Family Series and New Directions Series
performances.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.puppet.org or by calling 404.873.3391.
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