CO-CREATION 2 | Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum and its puppetry company (IT)

The Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum of Palermo was founded in 1975 by the Association for the Conservation of Folk Traditions. Its history is linked to its founder Antonio Pasqualino, who was a surgeon and anthropologist expert of the history and culture of Sicily. He dedicated his life and research to a form of theatre that, in the second half of the 20th century, seemed to be inexorably disappearing: Sicilian puppet theatre - the Opera dei pupi. In order to safeguard and promote it, Dr. Pasqualino and the Association combined traditional museum activities and the organization of live theatrical shows and, since its foundation, collaborated with all the Sicilian puppet companies and families, beyond their competitiveness. Protagonists of a high variety of activities, practitioners have always been involved in educational and theatrical activities – such as the annual international Festival di Morgana; have performed both traditional opera dei pupi shows and more innovative and multidisciplinary projects; have been part of the Museums' company. The Museum engagement in helping the oral transmission of the puppeteers' heritage led to the creation of a new generation of puppeteers and the naissance of two new companies. Thus, this co-creation does not focus on a single project, but on the Museum's project as a whole in that the Museum has been conceived for and with practitioners.