The Upatree Arts Co-operative was created to enable community arts to flourish in the villages of Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious in Brisbane’s hinterland.
Inspired by a puppet pageant in the Italian Alps in 2003, the idea to build giant puppets and hold our own community pageant was born. So began the process of collecting local stories, developing a musical score and creating ‘community spirit’ characters that became the ten giant puppets of the inaugural Mountain Puppet Pageant in 2004. Over a hundred people were involved in workshops over 9 months.
Since then, Upatree Arts Co-operative has performed in many community events including the Brisbane Festival, the Bellingen Global Carnival, the Lismore Lantern Festival and appears regularly at the Woodford Folk Festival. The co-operative has also created and held a large range of workshops aimed at building artistic skills and community.
Our aim is to foster community spirit through story telling and participatory performance. From giant puppets that dance and play with audiences to practical hands on art workshops and much in between, our community based co-operative creates innovative celebrations of art and life.
Inspired by a puppet pageant in the Italian Alps in 2003, the idea to build giant puppets and hold our own community pageant was born. So began the process of collecting local stories, developing a musical score and creating ‘community spirit’ characters that became the ten giant puppets of the inaugural Mountain Puppet Pageant in 2004. Over a hundred people were involved in workshops over 9 months.
Since then, Upatree Arts Co-operative has performed in many community events including the Brisbane Festival, the Bellingen Global Carnival, the Lismore Lantern Festival and appears regularly at the Woodford Folk Festival. The co-operative has also created and held a large range of workshops aimed at building artistic skills and community.
Our aim is to foster community spirit through story telling and participatory performance. From giant puppets that dance and play with audiences to practical hands on art workshops and much in between, our community based co-operative creates innovative celebrations of art and life.
