On the first day of the first edition of Carthage Puppetry Art Days, Tunis saw a large variety of colorful and funny puppets that attracted both children and adults.
The first edition kicked off on Saturday, the 22nd of September, with an Italian performance dubbed "The End of Gia" by the director Fabio Omudi. The performance targeted older people and was preceded by a giant puppetry carnival that joined over 150 puppets of different sizes and six folkloric bands.
The Carthage Puppetry Art Days will run till the 29th of this month, and it is expected to see the contribution of 24 Arab and foreign countries in 24 theater performances on various social and human issues. This edition focuses on the creative intersection of puppetry art with other arts such as dance, theater and visual arts. Tunisia participates in this creative event with 15 presentations, including four performances produced by the National Center of Puppet Art.
The event tackles the current developments and challenges of the puppetry art, with the participation of researchers from Tunisia and abroad. They will discuss the development of this art throughout ages, and the position of the artist in general and his role in the preservation of heritage, intellectual rights and the creator rights in this field.
Habiba Al-Jendoubi, director of this edition, highlighted the participation of a number of countries including Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Mali, Burkina Faso, South Korea and Canada. The titles of the upcoming presentations include "Me Cinderella" and "The Old Man" from Tunisia, "Once upon a time" from Egypt, "Friendship" from Mali, and "Diaries of Mamma Ghalia" from Kuwait. The performances will be displayed across the cultural city, Dar Al-Thaqafa Ibn Raziq, Al-Sindyana Theater in the old city, Al-Tahar Al-Haddad Cultural Club and the National Center for Puppet Art, all of which are located in the center of the Tunisian capital.
A series of training workshops will be organized on different topics including recycling, children's puppetry, animation cinema, Amek Tango", along with a workshop on the spirit of economic initiative taking puppetry art sector as an example.
The main exhibitions planned for this event are provided by the National Center for Puppet Art, Drama and Sculpture Arts Centers and High Institutes, as well as by private theater production companies. These exhibitions aim at promoting the puppetry art experience in Tunisia by highlighting its diversity and development, as well as introducing a general overview of the puppetry art heritage.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
