PUPPETS! Opens Tonight at Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is pleased to announce Puppets!, an interactive installation for all ages celebrating the art of puppetry, opening tonight, December 6, 2014, and continuing through June 6, 2015.

Puppets! will include unique performances, puppet-making workshops, and the opportunity for visitors to the Art Institute's Ryan Education Center to interact and explore creativity through puppets. Inspiration for these fantastical and imaginative puppet creations are drawn from works in the Art Institute's collection, including the monumental drawing The Temptation of St. Anthony, the centerpiece of this winter's special exhibition, Temptation: The Demons of James Ensor. Puppeteers of all ages can experiment with ways to develop stories and use sound effects and props in order to create playful, one-of-a-kind performances.

In August 2014 a group of artists and puppeteers from the Chicago area attended a puppet-making workshop at the museum to create hand and shadow puppets for visitors to enjoy. A selection of shadow puppets, which were also based on collection artworks, were laser cut by a student at the School of the Art Institute.

In addition to these artist-made puppets, visitors to the Ryan Education Center Family Room can make puppets of their own. A digital screen in the Family Center will display videos submitted by visitors who share their own puppet performances on social media using hashtag #EnsorPuppets. Another screen will feature a video showing the evocative and surprising connections between hand-crafted thematic puppets and Ensor's drawing, The Temptation of Saint Anthony.

In conjunction with Puppets!, the museum will present a series of film screenings including Jim Henson's beloved movie The Dark Crystal in Fullerton Hall at 6:00 p.m. on January 15th. A slate of related contemporary short films appropriate for teens and adults will be shown on select Friday afternoons from January to April in the Ryan Education Center.

And you never know when the popular Chicago Puppet Bike may drop by for a surprise live appearance.

The Ryan Education Center is free year-round to all visitors and children under 14 always receive free admission to the Art Institute.

Related Events

Family Film Program
December 27-30, 2014
10:30-3:00 pm
Drop In
Ryan Education Center
Free
A selection of video shorts by William Wegman (US) will play continuously throughout the day.

Puppets Alive!
January 16, 2015
February 20, 2015
March 20, 2015
April 17, 2015
2:00-2:45 pm
Ryan Education Center
Free
Contemporary animated and live-action shorts incorporating shadow and body puppetry, presented in conjunction with Temptation: The Demons of James Ensor and interactive exhibition Puppets! Films include Humdrum (UK), Paul the Badger (UK), Ubu Tells the Truth (South Africa), Jackleg Testament Act III (US), William Wegman shorts (US).

Family Festival
Puppets!
http://www.artic.edu/event/family-festival-puppets
January 17, 2015
10:30 am-3:00pm
Ryan Education Center
All ages; free
Visit Puppets!, an interactive exhibition in the Ryan Education Center. See Rikki Tikki Tavi, a production from Bullooney Puppetworks based on the Rudyard Kipling classic. Create a puppet from a variety of interesting found objects and textural materials. Then work with your family and other visitors to perform your own puppet show. Explore museum galleries on an interactive guided tour.

Images: Shadow puppets in the Ryan Education Center, The Art Institute of Chicago

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