The aim of the two-year project is to expand the international network for the Department of Contemporary Puppetry by establishing partner classes at four different European universities. The project is made possible by funding from the Freiraum programme of the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education.
The HfS Ernst Busch is launching a two-year cooperation project for the Contemporary Puppetry Department: Puppet Partners International, or PPI for short. The aim is to structurally anchor intercultural competence, artistic research and international exchange in teaching and studies. In close cooperation with four European universities, artistic and practical encounters will take place over several academic years in the form of tandem partner classes, joint workshops, festival visits and laboratory formats – both on the Berlin campus and at international cooperation locations.
The first two project partners of PPI is already are:
• Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana, Accademia Teatro Dimitri branch campus in Verscio (CH)
• Akademia Sztuk Teatralnych im. Stanisława Wyspiańskiego w Krakowie, branch campus in Wroclaw (PL)
Further collaborations will follow.
Funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education (Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre)
The two puppeteers, directors and successful producers Franziska Rattay and Ivana Sajević took over production management of Puppet Partners International in June 2025. Read an interview here about their plans for the project and why international collaborations are so important for puppeteers.
