Janel Schultz is a multi-disciplinary visual artist, puppeteer, musician, and filmmaker. Her self-portrait puppet exploration began in 2018, but further developed during the pandemic. She created a puppet DJ-set for ReachOUT Radio via Cactus Club using the puppet to reflect on perceptions, experiences, and memory. Intensive focus on puppets came out of the Object Movement Puppetry Residency, as well as a short film “Memory Spells.” Janel’s first Live Performance was in Puppet Blok at Dixon Place, curated by Amanda Glynn Card. PORTALS was first performed in 2024 at the Center for Performance Research funded by a Jim Henson Foundation Workshop Grant, and has continued to develop from work made at the Vermont Studio Center Residency and community film workshops at Mono No Aware.