UPATREE ARTS
The Upatree Arts Cooperative are based in a small community in the Brisbane hinterland, and specialise in creating magical characters for community celebrations. With their giant processional puppets, butterflies and elemental beings, their creations become a marvellous visual treat for festival-goers.

Originally formed to enable puppetry and community arts to flourish in the Mt. Nebo and Mt. Glorious region, the Upatree crew were inspired by a mask making workshop that was held there in 2003. The idea was born to build giant puppets and hold a community pageant, and so began the process of collecting local stories, developing a musical score and creating characters that became the ten giant puppets of the inaugural Mountain Puppet Pageant in 2004. Involving over a hundred people in workshops over a nine month period, the co-operative performed at the Woodford Folk Festival in 2005 with these giant ‘community spirit’ puppets. Since then the group has appeared at many local community events, as well as at larger venues, including the Brisbane Festival, the Special Olympics and the Lismore Lantern Festival.

For the Global Carnival, the Upatree crew have brought their latest fabulous creations, The Giant Grandmothers. Both an oral history project and a puppet project, these Global Grannies – Mia (South American), Sparrow (Gypsy) and Big Mama (African) - use their Nana Technology and elder’s wisdom to celebrate the role of grandmothers and older women around the world.

Also appearing will be Upatree Arts’ beautiful Tea Set, a magical group of cups and tea pot.