WISE FOOL AHA FEST & PUPPET PARADE – 2017

Wise Fool is a beloved and award-winning non-profit organization at the center of Santa Fe’s community arts scene. Wise Fool serves 2,000 youth and adults with hands-on activities and 14,000 audience members annually with high-quality experiences built upon their core values of community, arts accessibility, and social justice

On September 17, 2017, Wise Fool will collaborate with the AHA festival and MAKE Santa Fe to once again provide an opportunity for local folks of all ages to create artwork that responds to our world and then bring it to life in a public forum. Wise Fool will use giant puppetry and street art as the mediums for this temporary interactive art installation. These accessible and live art forms are accessible in every way – drawing in, disarming and creating shared experiences amongst diverse audiences…and anyone can make them!

Wise Fool will offer a two-week street art intensive, as well as free public workshops at our studio on Siler Road, and nearby MAKE Santa Fe. We will facilitate community members in the creation of giant puppets and street art pageantry that reflect both struggles and visions. A diverse, multi-generational miz of community members work as a team to create something larger than themselves. The resulting creations, from whimsical to powerful, will be brought to life by their makers and volunteers in a celebratory pop-up art installation. Spectators are treated to a colorful menagerie reflecting dozens of diverse, artistic reactions.