Shadow Community Workshop
The Shadow Community Workshop emerged from the artist’s ongoing practice with shadow puppetry and participatory storytelling. In this collaborative workshop, participants create a collective shadow puppet performance by developing stories, designing characters, making puppets, and performing together. The final piece combines a shared illustrated background drawn on a long roll of celluloid paper with handmade shadow puppets created by each participant.
The artist has conducted the workshop with local communities at the Northern Alps Art Festival in Japan, as part of the Drawing Center’s Drawing Connections series with PS 42 in New York City, and as an ongoing project with Community-Word Project and New York City public high schools. Most recently, the workshop was presented as part of the public program accompanying the artist’s solo exhibition at NIKA Project Space in Paris, in collaboration with Thanks for Nothing.
Photo documentation of the Community Shadow Workshop in Omachi, Japan, presented as part of the public program of the Northern Alps Art Festival. Video by Hirabayashi Takeshi, courtesy of the Northern Alps Art Festival.
Video documentation of the Community Shadow Workshop in Omachi, Japan, presented as part of the public program of the Northern Alps Art Festival. Video by Hirabayashi Takeshi, courtesy of the Northern Alps Art Festival.
Process:
1. Story Writing
Participants work in small groups to create short stories together. Through guided discussion, they develop characters, settings, and narratives that will serve as the foundation for their puppets and performances.
2. Collaborative Background Drawing
Participants collectively draw a large scrolling background on a long roll of celluloid paper using markers. Working side by side, they create the visual landscape for the performance, drawing from imagination or visual references.
3. Puppet Making
Each participant designs and constructs a shadow puppet inspired by the characters and stories developed during the workshop.
4. Performance
The workshop concludes with a collective shadow theatre performance. The illustrated background is projected and scrolled across a wall or screen while participants narrate their stories and animate their puppets, bringing their shared narratives to life.