The Kenya Institute of Puppet Theatre (KIPT) is organizing the 9th International Puppetry Festival“IPfest ” Kenya 2018 which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 17th to 21th October 2018.

This will be the first time that International Puppetry Festival of this magnitude will be held in Kenya.

Alongside hosting the 9th IPFest2018, the Kenya puppetry fraternity will be celebration it’s Silver Jubilee Celebration – a celebration of 25 years of the existence of puppetry and folk media programmes for health, social justice and political change in Kenya.

Every aspect of the IPfest 2018is being designed with long term sustainability in mind and with a commitment to building partnerships between different embassies, cultural centres, theatre companies,  governments and all stakeholders across the worldinterested in investing in the future of art for children and young people.

The 2018 festival theme is Towards Breaking Barriers. The theme, “ Towards Breaking Barriers” emanates from a conscious desire to deconstruct the idea of place and space of performances through cross-border and cross cultural mixed ability puppetry, physical and object theatre presentations.

The festival also intends to create a platform of expanding, sharing and enhancing skills and knowledge of Kenyan puppeteers as creative entrepreneurs.  As such, IPFest2018 will seek to integrate and present multimedia and mixed ability puppet theatre works involving able and disabled people drawn from across the world,  through a collaborative partnership aimed towardsbreaking social, political and economic barriers across the world.

We believe that hosting the 9th International Puppetry Festival 2018 will bring about increased awareness and enhanced bilateral relationship toward development of puppetry and artistic programmes through, Cross-Border and Cross Cultural Partnership

We invite you to this memorable event as we marks 25 years of the existence of community-based puppetry programs in Kenya.

For more information on how to participate, visit www.kiptkenya.org be in touch with us.

Phylemon Odhiambo Okoth,
Director – Kenya Institute of Puppet Theatre