POPPET

In 2018, ACT Natimuk created Poppet, a large-scale, site-specific aerial and projection performance, centred on the iconic poppet head in Rosalind Park, Bendigo.

Commissioned as part of the Regional Centre of Culture program and supported by Creative Victoria, Capital Theatre, and the City of Greater Bendigo, Poppet explored and celebrated the layered histories, landscapes, and communities of Bendigo through bold artistic expression.

Over a ten-month creative development period, the ACT Natimuk team collaborated deeply with local partners including the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo Historical Society, CreateAbility, Bendigo Field Naturalists, and ZFit, among others. Through workshops, walks on Country, interviews, historical tours, shadow puppetry, light painting, and aerial training, artists and community members contributed stories, images, and movement that were transformed into a unique, immersive public event.

Presented on October 20, 2018, Poppet brought together aerialists—including locally trained young performers—projection mapping, community-generated animation and shadow puppetry, music, and storytelling to activate all three sides of the towering poppet head structure. The work honoured both Bendigo’s rich cultural fabric and its complex First Peoples, colonial and environmental history, referencing everything from Chinese heritage and gold rush protests to local flora and fauna. Poppet was both a powerful creative achievement and a community celebration—bringing together over 250 participants in a spectacle that offered new perspectives on Bendigo’s past, present, and possibilities.

POPPET

In 2018, ACT Natimuk created Poppet, a large-scale, site-specific aerial and projection performance, centred on the iconic poppet head in Rosalind Park, Bendigo.

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