Giant Puppet Workshop with Cattywampus Puppet Council

Giant Puppet Workshop Inspired by the Art of Wayne White

Saturday, April 11, 2026
1:00-3:30pm
Free with preregistration, age 13+ requirement

The exhibition Wayne White: Revenge of the Knoxville Girl celebrates the art of giant puppetry and storytelling. Learn how to create your own stories through giant puppets with the help of Knoxville’s Cattywampus Puppet Council workshop held at the Knoxville Museum of Art on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 1:00-3:30pm. Visit the exhibition for inspiration, learn the basics of designing giant puppets, then take your knowledge home to create a puppet to use in the local Cattywampus Parade & Block Party in May.

Workshop is open to all skills levels age 13 and up, registration required. Please register by Friday, April 10th.

Giant Puppet Making 101:
KMA in collaboration with Cattywampus Puppet Council
Join our friends from local arts nonprofit Cattywampus Puppet Council and learn how to make your own giant puppets! This workshop is designed for teachers, community leaders, and any other individuals ages 13 & up who would like to learn how to design and create giant puppets and other parade art for the Cattywampus Parade & Block Party happening on Sunday, May 17th, 2026 at Suttree Landing Park! Now in its 9th year, Cattywampus’s people-powered Parade invites community members of all ages to create giant puppets, costumes, and other art and come together to parade as one. This year’s parade theme “Where the Waters Meet” will be in celebration of water and a commitment to protect our waterways and all of the life they support, including our own.

During this workshop, we will focus on papier-mâché, cardboard sculpting, rigging, and other methods for making inexpensive parade art. There will not be enough time for participants to complete their own project during this workshop but each participant will receive a Giant Puppet Making & Parade Art Manual to take home, plenty of hands-on experience, and time to work on their own design/brainstorm a project for their group. To learn more about Cattywampus, visit www.cattywampuspuppets.org.

Thank you to Cattywampus Puppet Council for partnering with the KMA on this program.