Glove Puppet Making Workshop – Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival
Two-day workshop: May 31 & June 7, 2026 | Booking now open (limited places)
Glove Puppet Making Workshop – Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival
Two-day workshop: May 31 & June 7, 2026 | Booking now open (limited places)
British UNIMA is pleased to highlight this special opportunity to work with international puppet maker Anne Murray (Refuge Puppets), presented as part of the Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival 2026.
🧵 About the Workshop
This two-day, hands-on glove puppet making workshop invites participants to design and build their own unique puppet character using recycled and re-harvested materials. Across the two sessions, you will learn techniques including carving, papier-mâché, sewing, painting, and assembling a finished glove puppet.
Participants will:
Carve expressive puppet heads and hands from re-used styrofoam
Use paper, glue, and paint to shape and finish features
Sew and construct costumes using recycled clothing and fabrics
Develop a character through making, guided by Anne’s socially engaged approach
You are encouraged to bring a piece of clothing or textile to incorporate into your puppet, giving new life to existing materials.
This workshop is suitable for beginners and experienced makers alike, and offers a supportive, collaborative environment focused on creativity, storytelling, and shared making.
📍 Workshop Dates & Locations
Day 1 – Sunday, May 31 (10:00–16:00)
Puppet Place, Bristol
Focus on carving, forming, and beginning costume construction.
Day 2 – Sunday, June 7 (17:00–21:00)
PRSC (Stokes Croft), Bristol
Painting, assembling, and completing your puppet.
Note: Final sealing spray will need to be applied at home once materials are fully dry.
🎟 Booking & Access
Places are limited, so early booking is recommended.
Concessions
A limited number of concession tickets are available. If cost is a barrier, please contact:
undergrowth.c@gmail.com
🎭 About the Artist
Anne Murray (Ireland/USA, based in Spain) is a puppet maker and socially engaged artist whose work centres on puppetry as a tool for advocacy, healing, and collective expression.
Her project, Refuge Puppets, creates spaces where people affected by trauma, displacement, and conflict can come together through making and performance. Her practice connects craft with activism—bringing visibility to lived experiences that are often marginalised or unheard.
As part of the festival, Anne will also present her giant puppet “Aboud”, representing a real child in Gaza, and take part in a Palestinian Solidarity Night featuring films by puppeteers in Gaza and the West Bank. This event will raise funds to support their ongoing work.
🌍 About the Festival
The Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival is a 10-day, cross-city, DIY festival taking place in June 2026, celebrating the vibrant and often hidden world of puppetry.
Bringing together local collectives and international artists, the festival invites audiences and participants alike to experience puppetry in unexpected forms—through performances, workshops, parades, film screenings, and interventions in public space.
Rooted in collaboration and experimentation, the festival aims to:
Animate the city through creative and rebellious expression
Create connections between artists, communities, and audiences
Explore puppetry as a living, political, and imaginative artform
Events will take place across a range of Bristol venues including:
PRSC, The Cube Microplex, Puppet Place, Afghan Tasty Corner, The Loco Club, and more.
The festival is entirely volunteer-run, and welcomes support. If you would like to get involved—whether through volunteering, documentation, or offering space—please contact:
bristolexperimentalpuppetfestival@protonmail.com
🔗 Stay Connected
Follow the artists and organisers:
refugepuppets
annemurray.art
undergrowth_collective
puppetplace
stokescroftchina
Join in to build, create, and connect—through puppetry that brings people together and gives form to powerful stories.