What’s On: Free Puppet Making Workshop, Elephant and Castle
Free puppet-making workshops in Elephant and Castle will be on offer to the public from September 19 to October 16 as part of an exhibition focusing on sustainability.
The workshops will be hosted by Sara Ekenger, an artist and designer specialising in the use of recycled and found materials to create puppets.
Visitors to the puppet making workshop will be able to make their own puppet or work together to help create a large puppet set to feature in a parade.
Guests will be encouraged to bring their own recycled materials to create their own puppets, and can attend a workshop for as little as 15 minutes or stay for the full hour.
The workshops form part of EMERGENCE, held as part of this year’s prestigious London Design Festival, and are made up of work from students and staff from
the London College of Communication’s Design School.
As well as a public exhibition, EMERGENCE will also include a series of events, with most open to the public and free to attend.
The exhibition explores what design can do to achieve goals of sustainable production and consumption, biodiversity, social cohesion and environmental sustainability.
As well as creating a puppet, visitors can also attend workshops on creating biomaterials and problem-solving through design, hear a panel discussion on how the representation of HIV/AIDS has changed since the 1980s, and attend a screening and discussion of the film ‘Patricia’, which explores the relationship between austerity, mental health, and homelessness.
Dr Nicky Ryan, Dean of Design at London College of Communication, said: “We are experiencing a climate and ecological emergency and as a School and College we have committed to bringing responsible social and environmental
sustainable practices to the heart of everything we do.
“I hope that visitors to the exhibition and events will recognise the power and potential of education to help achieve the global imperatives of ecological balance and social equity.
“I want visitors to recognise that this is an emergency but to retain hope and believe that through positive action there is still time to make a difference.”