The Giant Puppet Project, Siem Reap is delighted to
announce the date for the 2016 parade, Saturday 6th February at 7pm.
The largest local community arts project for children in Cambodia, The Giant Puppet Project provides a creative platform for disadvantaged children to foster and promote self-expression and confidence through art.
Children under 15 make up one third of Cambodia’s entire population. Widespread poverty exists; education, health and the environment are key issues for the sustainable growth of the country.
Every year The Giant Puppet Project offers over 600 children the opportunity to digest these allimportant issues through a jovial artistic medium.
Under the guidance of 12 student Artists from the renowned Phare Ponleu Seplak Visual Arts School in Battambang, local children and young adults grow artistically in specialised workshops. All workshops will be run entirely by these hugely talented Cambodian Artists.
Now entering its tenth year, this significant event for underprivileged children in Siem Reap creates an important sense of community building, establishes teamwork, and provides a fun method for children to learn about their endangered indigenous flora and fauna.
Project Director, Stuart Cochlin, was instrumental in merging the Giant Puppet Project with Phare in 2009, and he is immensely pleased to see how his initial idea has evolved into a major success.
Cochlin, an architect hailing from London now firmly based in Siem Reap, co-founded the project in 2007, and has proudly witnessed its massive growth and respected recognition since its humble beginnings.
The 2016 Giant Puppet Project commences on 23rd January, with an established team of artists and volunteers holding the first workshop in the picturesque gardens of Wat Damnak Pagoda with young landmine survivors from the Cambodian Landmine Museum Relief Fund working along side local expat children from nearby international schools.
“The first giant puppet will be created over two days and in the following week children from a broad range of schools, educational facilities and ‘street kid’ shelters are invited to join the
workshops where the children themselves craft the puppets under the tutelage of the artists”, says Cochlin. “All puppets are created to include unique educational, cultural or ecological themes such as road safety, endangered species, hygiene, local cultural appreciation and environmental awareness. Each puppet takes an average of two days to complete and will vary in size from ten to fifteen meters”, he continued.
The climactic finale of the Giant Puppet Project, is a dramatic parade through the streets of Siem Reap Town. In the ancient style of Chinese dragon puppets, each organisation proudly exhibits their creation. The children are applauded and cheered for the duration of the parade by an enormous and annually growing crowd of onlookers from the local communities as well as host of international tourists.
"The Giant Puppet Parade in Siem Reap is the biggest event in ABCs and Rice’s calendar year”, says Tammy Durand, Director of ABCs and Rice. “It builds their self-worth because the puppet is actually made by them. It’s wonderful to see the children in a setting outside of school where they work as a team. They have so much fun during the parade, marching with everyone and showing off their puppet. One particular child said he enjoys the puppet build because of the surprise of which animal we are making and that we learn to care for all the animals.”
The parade begins in the Old Market area of Siem Reap and marches through the old town before snaking it’s way along the river road to the Royal Independence Gardens, opposite Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Once the parade reaches its destination, entertainment is put on for the children’s amusement as they rest their energized little selves.
Tania Palmer, founder of The Green Gecko Project, a centre established to shelter street children at risk, described her organization’s experience with the Giant Puppet Project as “a fabulous experience from beginning to end; watching their masterpieces evolve from their handy work to the pride and joy beaming from their faces as they chanted [through the streets of Siem Reap shaking their shakers and holding up their gigantic achievement to hoards of bemused yet delighted onlookers curb side.”
The Giant Puppet Project is an initiative which is growing in size, awareness and interest both locally and internationally.
For more information and high-res images for publication, please contact
Bina Hanley – Marketing & Communications Manager
Tel:
+855 92 219 647giantpuppetproject@gmail.c
@giantpuppetproj
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