OUR STORY

OUR STORY

Getting animated for over 20 years

The International Festival of Animated Objects Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting mask & puppet related performance.

As an incubator and producer of mask, puppetry, and animated objects we are the primary curator and presenter of local, national and international puppetry. We strive to provide Alberta audiences with the chance to experience the breadth and diversity of these innovative art forms.

Vital to the development of puppetry as an art form, the festival not only provides a stage for Alberta creators to showcase their work but is also a forum for an international exchange of ideas providing learning opportunities for professional and emerging artists and the public at large to find expression through animated objects.

As an artform, puppetry is the great equalizer.

Breathing life into the inanimate is a foundational act of creation which allows us to connect us in a visceral way that crosses cultures and identities.

It tells the stories that tie us together.

Our Mandate

  • To present dynamic international artists of puppetry and mask to the public of Calgary and surrounding areas in all areas of performance and film/media

  • To support and present the local puppet and mask artists of Calgary and surrounding areas in all areas of puppetry and film/media

  • To foster and support innovation in puppetry and mask.

  • To invigorate the community and create interest in all areas of puppet and mask related art.

  • To make mask and puppet related art accessible to the entire community of Calgary and surrounding areas.

Our Staff

Xstine Cook
Founder & Artistic Director, Film & Exhibits

Peter Balkwill
Artistic Director, Live Performance

Cosmo Christoffersen
Managing Producer

Conrad Bealu
Assistant Producer

Tauran Wood
Technical Director

Elaine Weryshko
Wunderbriefs Curator

Heath Van Severen
Volunteer Coordinator

Mackenzie Bedford
Marketing Coordinator

Sean Dennie
Festival Photographer

Festival Videographer
Neil Evenson

Bookkeeper
Taryn Craig

Our Board

Cassie Holmes
Vanessa Perkins
Gwen Murray
Matt Smith