Moving Parts Arts

02/06/2026

Afterlives Festival: Create a Sea Creature with Judith Hope - Puppet Maker and Moving Parts Arts
Where: Redbridge Libraries (Essex)
Sat 6th June, 2pm-4pm
Sun 7th June, 11am-12pm
FREE! but booking required

Join artist Judith Hope in workshops to create a shoal of sea creatures (imaginary or realistic), to act as the guardians, escorting the whale on it's journey into the next life. Participants will design and make their own sea creature using simple metal embossing techniques, as can be seen on the main artwork. The sea creatures will then be added to the art work, becoming an integral part of the finished piece.

Everything contains a story, however big or small. Every object, item and belonging has passed through the hands and lives of others, tales of people, places, lost times and conversations, tightly and silently bound within. But what happens when a custodian dies and those stories are lost?

Silent Stories uses a collection of tiny, seemingly unimportant objects sourced from London's flea markets and rescued from local house clearances. It includes forgotten fragments of London lives, each containing their own lost story. Safely housed within miniature shrines, these precious objects are preserved and transported aboard a whale.

Representing spiritual guardians within some cultures, the whale embodies tranquillity, harmony and peace, a keeper of wisdom and history. Often disorientated by sonar pollution, whales have been known to swim up the River Thames, transient drifting visitors, often losing their own lives in doing so. Within the work, the whale signifies the journey into unchartered territories, navigating a passage towards the unfamiliar world of the afterlife.

Silent Stories explores what we leave behind. The meanings, importance and significance of possessions and memory. It focuses on the preservation and bringing together of tiny objects, the forming of new partnerships and new beginnings, and in turn, the birth of a new story.

No experience necessary. All materials and tools will be provided.

Who it's for: Ages 15+

Session length: 2 hours (or until participants finish their piece).

Spaces are limited and must be pre-booked. Free to attend.

02/06/2026

Applications are open for our Moving Parts Puppet Film Fest 2027 Short Films Competition! The competition is open to artists internationally who are creating films that use puppets and stop motion animation puppetry.

Earlybird deadline: 31st July 2026
Final deadline: 1st March 2027

Categories:
- Best in show - Stop Motion Animation
- Best in show - Live Puppetry Film
- Unexpected Delight (A film unique in materials, process and storyline)
- Plucky Underdog (Low budget film with lots of promise)

Films must be under 15 minutes and made in the last 4 years.

More info / apply:
https://filmfreeway.com/MovingPartsPuppetFilmFest

22/05/2026

We welcomed University of Salford Fine Art student Grace Bredael on a placement with us here at Moving Parts during March and April 2026. It was pleasure to have Grace working with us on Wind Garden and A Treasury of Tyneside Tales and she brought so much to our team during the time she was with us. Grace tells us a little bit about her time at Moving Parts Arts in this blog post...

We welcomed University of Salford Fine Art student Grace Bredael on a placement with us here at Moving Parts during March and April 2026.

20/05/2026

New blog! A round-up on our 'A Treasury of Tyneside Tales' project, by project Heritage Lead Dave Silk...

Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Community Foundation North East, Hays Travel and North East Mayoral Strategic Authority for supporting this project.

Our Heritage Lead, David Silk, goes in-depth on this large-scale project, exploring folklore, Crankie theatres and community stories...When we think about treasure, particularly in the context of a museum, we’re almost certainly thinking about stuff. Torcs of twisted bronze or gold wire that adorn...

05/05/2026

FREE craft workshop this coming weekend at Newcastle City Library - limited places remaining.
⏰When: Friday 8th and Saturday 9th May, 10am-1pm
⭐️Who it's for: Ages 12+ and adults
🎟️Tickets: Free but booking essential
Where: Newcastle City Library, NE1 8AX
https://afterlives.uk/

🔥Anise the Phoenix by Chloe Rodham 🔥
as part of Afterlives Festival in partnership with Newcastle Libraries
In Victorian times, people placed beautiful glass domes on graves filled with precious objects, symbols and treasures to honour those they had lost.

Now that tradition is coming back to life, and it has found a powerful new muse. It is common knowledge that the phoenix is a mythical bird reborn from its own ashes but in some ancient accounts, this beautiful creature performs a deeper ritual.

When it senses its life force ebbing, it gathers aromatic spices and scented resins like myrrh, shaping them into an egg and placing within it the ashes of its previous self. The newly born phoenix must then carry this precious object to a sacred place.

Inspired by both of these traditions, Newcastle-based Moving Parts Arts has worked with artist Chloe Rodham to create Anise the Phoenix, a stunning new artwork that asks you to take part in making and crafting together. Using traditional paper quilling techniques, participants will craft a delicate, hollow, egg-shaped form, echoing the vessel the phoenix creates.

At the heart of the workshop is a quiet ceremony: using a phoenix feather made of paper, where you will be asked to write a short message in ink. These could be a memory of a loved one lost, words left unsaid, or a reflection on personal rebirth. These objects will be displayed around Anise, making this Immortelle a living portrait of our Newcastle community.

What to expect:
- A unique community art installation to discover
- The story behind the Victorian and mythological traditions that inspired the work
- Free community workshops using traditional paper quilling techniques

Why come?
Art that belongs to a community tells a shared story. Immortelles is a chance to leave your mark on something genuinely beautiful and to see yourself reflected in a work of art made by and for the people around you.