Puppeteer at Holloway Park

While we are building the new homes at Holloway Park, we continue to find multiple great uses for the spare spaces at the old visitor centre to support local community organisations and workshops. One of the most unusual occupants is our Islington resident puppeteer Helen Ainsworth.

Helen is a local resident who began her creative career by studying theatre design. Through learning about aspects of theatre such as mime and dance she became interested in prop design and puppetry. She has a workshop here at Holloway Park which gives her the space to work on projects with puppets for adults and with children. The studio space here at Holloway Park is full of equipment which is being used here in a project to make a pop video with local mums. Helen said, ‘There is space here to do a big project which makes a big difference to the work I can do.’

Helen is a co-founder with another local mum of the Cut Moose Charity based Hilldrop Community Centre, together they run various community projects. The HIlldrop Tales project collaborates with local residents of Hilldrop Crescent collecting their memories and stories working together to create a podcast and a performance giving them a voice. Other projects at Hilldrop include weekly Walking Art Workshops, Creative Dinners supporting families with healthy eating and animation sessions with vulnerable members of Islington communities. Helen also delivers puppet making workshops in Caledonian Park – “that’s the way to do it”.”

We are delighted to have a puppeteer in residence at Holloway Park. If you are interested in more details of the theatrical and community work Helen does please check out her website; www.helenandjohn@co.uk and www.cutmoose.com . Cut Moose are also available on Instagram @cutmoose.