Animate the River: Help Build the Avona Puppet at Puppet Place
Friday 25 July 2025, Friday 8th August and Monday 11th August
What if the River Avon could speak? What would she say?
This July, a new community-led art project invites you to help find out.
Join a Bristol-based, female-led collective for the first in a series of creative workshops to bring the Avona puppet to life. A giant goddess inspired by the River Avon, built by many hands, and powered by a shared message: to raise awareness of water pollution and environmental care through art.
The project is hosted at Puppet Place, the beating heart of puppetry in Bristol and one of the UK’s leading creative hubs for visual and object theatre.
Avona Puppet Workshop · Part 1
📅 Date: Friday 25 July 2025, Friday 25 July 2025, Friday 8th August and Monday 11th August
📍 Location: Puppet Place Rehearsal Studio
🔞 Ages: 18+
💸 Tickets: Pay what you can (suggested £12)
🎟️ Click here to book
In this first session, you’ll help shape the vision of Avona through scale drawings and willow frame-building, no prior puppet-making experience required. Just bring your creativity, an open mind, and a willingness to get hands-on.
You’re welcome to attend one, or several, of the workshops, each one builds on the next as Avona comes to life.
About Puppet Place
Founded as a hub for puppetry, animation, and visual theatre, Puppet Place Trust Ltd is a registered charity dedicated to expanding access to the arts and championing innovative practice in puppetry.
Their work includes:
Hosting the Bristol Festival of Puppetry, which has welcomed over 30,000 attendees.
Supporting a community of 25 Resident Artists and over 50 Associates.
Running workshops, scratch cabarets, film challenges, and public engagement programmes throughout the year.
Collaborating with cultural and education partners to promote inclusion, accessibility, and mentorship across the arts.
Located at Spike Island on Bristol’s historic harbourside, Puppet Place is a centre of excellence in puppetry and home to makers, performers, designers, and technicians working locally, nationally, and internationally.
You may have seen Puppet Place artists performing live with Coldplay on their Music of the Spheres tour, or featured in recent pieces by BBC West, Nearside Magazine, and Bristol 24/7.
They’ve also just launched their first podcast, recorded live in April 2025 — a panel discussion with UK-based puppeteers about practice, inspiration, and the realities of the puppetry world.
Available now on Spotify:
"Have You Ever Wondered About Puppetry?"
Featuring @beanpigpuppets, @izzleb, @scarletoaktheatre
Chaired by @mattwgibbs | Recorded by @jonathanevefilm
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