Art Shaping Change In Person Workshops
General Info
Heart of the Beast’s Art Shaping Change Workshops are annually recurring art classes taught by local creatives that explore social justice themes.
The focus of Art Shaping Change 2023 is climate justice. Three unique in person puppetry workshops will be this February taught by Sofía Padilla and Davey Steinman of Paradox Teatro. Come to as many or as few as you want!
All workshops are free and open to the public. All participants ranging from beginners to experts of all ages are welcome. Kids will need an adult with them to assist for both in person and virtual workshops.
*There are a few more spots open for the first workshops, register while you can!
If workshops are sold out but you would like to get on the waitlist to join the class, come in person to the theater 10 minutes prior to put your name down. There is a chance you will be able to join with no-shows.
Image description: The Art Shaping Change logo appears in a graphic out lined in purple.
Workshops
Image Description: A photo of a person, in a former Paradox Teatro puppetry workshop, in a dark room manipulating sand on a light box with their projected image of a mer-person.
In Person Classes
Dates: Feb.12, Feb.19, Feb. 26
Time: 11 am - 12:30 pm
Location: The Avalon Theater, 1500 E. Lake St.
Artists Sofía Padilla and Davey Steinman will teach three in person workshops. They will guide students to reflect on and brainstorm how they can speak up for change through their art. Sofía and Davey will teach participants how to build shadow puppets using accessible materials, draw on a lightbox with sand, and mix shadow puppets, sand drawings and human silhouettes for live puppetry performance that speaks to climate justice. Scroll down to see individual workshop descriptions below!
Accessibility Info
Masks are strongly recommended to participate in workshops. We are committed to getting accessible art supplies so that people with a range of abilities can participate. In person workshops will be wheelchair and mobility devices accessible. In person events will have ASL and language interpretation available upon request.
Transit:
The in person workshops take place at 1500 E. Lake St., the Avalon theater. Parking is available on the streets surrounding the theater. Paid metered parking is available along Lake St and free street parking is available on 15th Ave.
For guests using public transit, the theater is located off the 21 bus line at Lake St E & 14th Ave S.
Artist Bios
Paradox Teatro
Image Description: A photo of Sofia (left) and Davey (right), holding their puppet, Ruben, who stands in the center. The puppet is a bald human, with a serious expression, wearing a flannel shirt taking a photo with a camera.
Paradox Teatro is a multimedia puppetry company founded in 2017 by Artistic Co-Directors Sofía Padilla & Davey T. Steinman with the mission of creating performances to communicate across language barriers and cultures.
They have toured performances in Europe, the United States and Mexico, and taught artist residencies from Vermont to Oaxaca. Paradox Teatro’s fantastical work responds to timely cultural issues by blending deeply personal inspirations with universally relevant themes.
They have been awarded two Production Grants (2019 and 2022) and one Workshop Grant (2021) by the Jim Henson Foundation. The company continued to generate creative output during the coronavirus pandemic by working in isolation to teach online puppetry workshops, and to create short film adaptations of their live puppetry work, which are distributed online for free HERE
Class Details
Workshop #1
Feb. 12
“Making Shadow Puppets Joints and Mechs”
This workshop will guide you in how to build shadow puppets with rotating and sliding joints by using accessible and durable materials like fishing line, staples and lighters. We'll create our puppets under a Climate Justice perspective through brainstorming and reflection so that our art can speak up for change. All participants ranging from beginners to experts of all ages are welcome. Kids will need an adult with them to assist in the process.
Workshop #2
Feb. 19
“Exploring Sand Drawings and Silhouettes”
An introduction workshop to explore sand as a material for drawing on a light box and its interaction with human silhouettes. We'll create our images under a Climate Justice perspective through brainstorming and reflection so that our art can speak up for change. All participants ranging from beginners to experts of all ages are welcome. Kids will need an adult with them to assist in the process.
Workshop #3
Feb. 26
“Mixing Shadow Puppets, Sand Drawings and Silhouettes for live performance”
This workshop will focus on learning how to manipulate and mix shadow puppets, sand drawings and human silhouettes for live performance. Each participant or group of participants will design through playing and exploring with the different proposed techniques, creating a simple 1-minute scene to perform, accompanied by live music provided by Paradox Teatro. We'll create our scenes under a Climate Justice perspective through brainstorming and reflection so that our art can speak up for change. All participants ranging from beginners to experts of all ages are welcome. Kids will need an adult with them to assist in the process.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.