Festival of Animated Objects showcases new artists in Calgary

From shadow screens to sock monsters, the Festival of Animated Objects turns the city into a playground for masks, movement, and the magic of bringing things to life.

From March 14–22, the annual festival will feature live performances, workshops, cabarets, and a slate of Incubator premieres that put fresh voices on stage.

The Festival of Animated Objects’ Incubator Program is a two‑year mentorship track that supports artists as they build a brand‑new full‑length puppet or mask performance from the ground up. It pairs creative guidance with resources and a developmental fee, finishing with work‑in‑progress showings or a premiere at the Calgary festival.

Two years ago, Iván Guevara Garcìa submitted to the Festival’s Incubator soon after his first mask show at UCalgary, La Danza de los Viejitos. Incubator invests in artists over two seasons, pairing mentorship with time and resources to build full‑length works.

“They’ve been really helpful, because they kind of… jumpstarted my career in this path of artistry,” he says. The Incubator has also opened space for a younger wave of Calgary puppeteers. “It’s really nice that younger artists from our school can now start that journey themselves.”

García is the artist behind Esperanza, an Incubator performance that runs March 18 and 19 as part of the festival. It is his second year and the final iteration of the show he began developing at last year’s festival. The University of Calgary Fine Arts student builds from movement, mask, and the imagery of Día de los Muertos.

“I’m a big clown artist… trying to express yourself with your body,” he says.

He grew the show out of the “universal language of movement,” pairing it with paper mâché skulls and masks that feel pulled right out of the altar and into the light.

The story follows an eight‑year‑old who moves through grief without realizing she has died.

“So the audience knows it, but she doesn’t… she is the only human character in a world of mask and puppetry,” Guevara Garcìa explains.

It is an exploration of grief and the division of the dead and the living, through bringing lifeless objects and masks to life.

Other year‑two works include Twilight Glow of Romeo, Ghost, and La Storia, each taking a different swing at what you can do with masks and puppetry.

Beyond the Incubator, the festival spreads out with family‑friendly stops and late‑night delights at over 13 locations across the city, from YMCAs to Legions to traditional theatre spaces.

You can check out the full schedule at https://www.puppetfestival.ca/

And find tickets to Esperanza here.