With generous support from Cheryl Henson and the Jim Henson Foundation for a Puppetry Mini-Residency Program, Dixon Place is supporting residencies that serve the creative process and new work development during this challenging time.
DP selected four exceptional artists for this puppetry residency program: Nephrii Ameni continues her summer DP residency, focused on documenting her process and further development of HUMAN; Maria Camia ramps up development of her DP commission NEW MONY! for our May ‘21 production; Joseph Lymous is using the residency to fabricate puppets, costumes, masks, and to consult with artistic collaborators; and Sifiso Mabena continues to investigate Afro-Surrealism while developing a new work that explores her experience of the modern African diaspora. (More about the artists below.)
The artists’ visions, needs, and timelines are different; therefore each residency is customized, taking place Oct ’20 to March ‘21. Artists receive a $3,000 honorarium, full access to DP’s facility, and administrative, technical, and IT resources.
MEET THE ARTISTS
“My work focuses on what I call “Creative Anthropology.” I’m particularly interested in the excavation and reconstruction of African peoples of the diaspora who have gone through a unique process of cultural erasure. As an archeological restoration artist uses chemicals and swabs to preserve and care for cultural objects, I use imagination, puppetry, and personal narrative in an attempt to restore what has been damaged in humanity… and to create new worlds.”
“ARICAMA, the spiritual/sci-fi universe of practice, play, and healing, blossoms through methods of puppetry, fashion, light language, playwriting, comics, illustration, animation, and musical composition. Asian/Filipino indigenous roots, Mayan mythology, Vedic astrology, and extraterrestrial connection blend and ground an impossible future into our reality. The characters channeled allow me to explore their liberated cultures as we implement our most fun potential.”
“If change moves at the speed of trust, I believe laughter can be a shortcut to change. As a Black, queer artist from New Orleans I create thoughtful, joyful, and humorous work to liberate myself and other marginalized folks. Through movement, exaggerated personification and anthropomorphic characters I seek to point out how absurdly hilarious and painful it can be to simply be alive.”
“Using autobiography (real and imagined), I make solo and ensemble projects that address notions of home, belonging, and identity. As one of the estimated 2 million Zimbabweans living outside of Zimbabwe, my work explores the complexities of diasporic identities and the act of holding several identities at once. As a result of feeling torn between numerous Western and African cultures I’ve lived in, my work is a process of blending – I create theatrical pastiches and collages that include history, current affairs, puppetry, anecdotes, song, and video.”
