Potential Energy: Chicago Puppets Up Close

Chicago is home to a rich and growing ecology of puppetry, bridging mediums and communities of makers. This sampling of puppets by local artists challenges expectations about puppetry and inspires the public to tell their own stories. Puppets are made to tell stories. By taking puppets off stage, we can focus on how artists design specific stories into each object. How do artists invent new ways to mechanize materials in motion, build cohesive worlds, and create characters that expand our ability to understand and empathize with ourselves and others?