Katkatha Puppet Residency

Residency brief

The Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust is a travelling puppet theatre company founded in 1998, which frequently collaborates with international puppet theatre companies and festivals, including the World Festival of Puppet Theatres of Charleville-Mézières. One of their key priorities is to develop a professional training programme for the next generation of puppeteers, by providing intensive courses and workshops at their company. Through this residency, Katkatha will enable French artists to explore and experience the numerous and diverse puppetry traditions in India, Delhi being the main but not exclusive location of the residency.

The residency will be divided into two parts: a 10 to 15 days master-class with Katkatha puppeteers, including puppet building, animation and performance, followed by a studio-based mentorship during which the resident will be able to develop his/her own project and eventually present it at Katkatha’s partner venues. Throughout the residency, the French artist will be fully immersed in the company, and when possible he/she will be associated with Katkatha’s daily activities, such as in-house productions and commissioned shows, applied puppetry projects in cultural and educational institutions, and community theatre activities for children.

  • Thematic focus Performing arts (puppetry)
  • Location Badarpur (Delhi) & Mussoorie (Uttarakhand)
  • Dates September - October 2023
  • Length of stay 6 to 8 weeks
  • Applications are closed

Our Space

Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust Studio, Badarpur (Delhi), & Savitri Villa, Mussoorie (Uttarakhand)

Katkatha Studio is located at the southern border of Delhi, 12 kilometres from the city centre. This semi-urban area is densely-populated, and constitutes a large part of the city’s labour force. The rehearsal room overlooks the main alleyway of the district, opening a window to the entire community.

Our Laureates

Pauline Lavogez Performer

It is with the aim of nourishing my performance practice that I aspire to immerse myself in the knowledge and traditions of puppet theater. India represents an exceptional opportunity to explore puppetry and its know-hows, with its diversity of styles, techniques and tales, deeply rooted in Indian culture.

Pauline Lavogez graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2015, and from the EXERCE course in choreographic research at the Institut Chorégraphique International, CCN, Montpellier, in 2022. She develops her research through choreography, video-performance and installation. Her work explores the notions of desire, conflict and domination, drawing parallels between our vital carnal needs and our untimely production of violence. She has won the prizes Thaddeus Ropac/Amis des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Demandolx-Dedons/Amis des Beaux-Arts de Paris and ICART. She created her first solo choreography in 2021, Ni regret ni oubli. Her work has been presented in several group exhibitions in Paris, Cité internationale des Arts, Carreau du Temple, Fondation d'entreprise Ricard, 62° Salon de Montrouge, Monolisboa (Lisbon), OFF ART-Ô-RAMA (Marseille).