The theme of this year’s edition of the festival is “the future”. This motto reflects the development of puppet theatre and highlights the possibilities offered by new technologies — including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, 3D printing, and mechanical and animatronic forms. This year’s edition also continues the close cooperation established in 2025 between Bialystok University of Technology and the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw, Bialystok Branch.
– The cooperation between the Theatre Academy and the University of Technology is not only an exciting episode but already a fascinating series – says Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng., Rector of Bialystok University of Technology. – We look forward to each new “episode” with anticipation. We are grateful for the invitation to this project, which demonstrates the interdisciplinary potential of our combined strengths. Through such activities we can present our potential as a technical university, while at the same time drawing even closer to the city’s residents. We show that Bialystok University of Technology also undertakes initiatives that are open and accessible to a wide audience, which — in cooperation with other institutions — bring new, valuable results.
The technological focus of this year’s theme encourages dialogue with classical theatrical methods and forms, which remain a living source of inspiration. From the very beginning, the visual identity of the festival has been the responsibility of Assoc. Prof. Andrzej Dworakowski, DSc, PhD, Eng., Head of the Department of Graphic Design at the Faculty of Architecture of Bialystok University of Technology.
– So far I have tried to ensure that the motto “Lalka, nie lalka” is reflected in the graphics, in which objects come to life just as they do in the hands of actors – recalls Prof. Andrzej Dworakowski. – The designs have featured, among others, sheep shears, secateurs, paper clips and a wood saw. This year’s poster refers to contemporary technologies and the world in which we function. As usual, I stepped back — and reached for Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings, which form the background of the project. I hope that in the further visual identity they will be even more visible, presenting him as a master of drawing, architect, constructor and visionary. We know Leonardo mainly as the author of the “Mona Lisa”, yet his intellectual and conceptual output significantly preceded his era. Many of his projects have now been realised — and they work. That is why I decided that the guiding motif of this year’s edition should be reason and thinking. Against the background of Leonardo’s drawings there therefore appears a brain created by a graduate of the theatre technology programme. I hope it will become a symbol of the new energy of the festival and will encourage people to follow both the visual identity and the stage events.
The organisers, by inviting universities as well as public and private cultural institutions to participate, emphasise the wide accessibility of the event.
– Thanks to the fact that you are with us, we will be able to take our guests to places they do not yet know, and show your guests the theatre and the field of art we are engaged in – says Prof. Artur Dwulit, DSc, PhD, Vice-Rector of the Theatre Academy for the Bialystok Branch. – We will be present in various parts of Bialystok. Most importantly, all the spaces will meet accessibility standards. Persons with special needs will be able to participate safely in the events and attend performances.
The idea of the festival is based on interdisciplinary cooperation between academic and cultural communities, which together shape the image of the city and the region. The organisers and partners, guided by shared values and the complementarity of their potentials, strive to enrich the programme of the event and strengthen its international and social dimension. The cooperation covers substantive, organisational and promotional activities.
– This is an event of which we as a city are proud. During the festival the whole puppetry community comes together here – says Rafał Rudnicki, Deputy President of Bialystok. – Artists and creators from Poland, Europe and other parts of the world will meet here in June.
The 12th International Festival of Puppetry Schools PUPPETNOPUPPET will take place from 23 to 27 June 2026. It is a non-competitive event — a space for meetings, exchange of experiences and creative dialogue among young puppet artists from different countries. For more than twenty years the festival has combined diverse forms of animated theatre, juxtaposing contemporary artistic explorations with traditional puppet techniques. It is a celebration of theatre based on openness, cooperation and mutual inspiration.
On Tuesday, 24 March, at the Jan Wilkowski School Theatre, the ceremonial signing of the letter of intent concerning the organisation of the Festival took place. The partners took part in it — directors of cultural institutions and rectors of higher education institutions (in alphabetical order):
- Bożena Violetta Bielecka, DSc, PhD, Director of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic – European Centre for the Arts in Bialystok named after Stanisław Moniuszko,
- Assoc. Prof. Krzysztof Korotkich, DSc, PhD, Vice-Rector for Education at the University of Bialystok,
- Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng., Rector of Bialystok University of Technology,
- Jacek Malinowski, DSc, PhD, Director of the Bialystok Puppet Theatre,
- Marek Masalski, Owner of Nie Teatr,
- Assoc. Prof. Wojciech Śleszyński, DSc, PhD, Director of the Sybir Memorial Museum,
- Eliza Urwanowicz-Rojecka, Head of the Programme Department at the Arsenał Gallery,
- Martyna Faustyna Zaniewska, PhD, Director of the Bialystok Cultural Centre.
Author: Jerzy Doroszkiewicz
