Araceli Cabrera Cáceres

Puppetry Artist | Visual Theatre Maker | Community Arts Practitioner

Based in Bristol, UK | Working internationally

Profile

I am a Chilean puppetry artist, visual theatre maker and community arts practitioner based in Bristol, with over 25 years' international experience across Chile, Europe, Vietnam and the UK. As Resident Artist at Puppet Place, I create immersive performances and participatory experiences using natural and found objects, shadow puppetry and object manipulation, inviting audiences and communities to discover the poetic potential of materials around us through visual storytelling.

Career Highlights

25+ years' international artistic practice
Resident Artist, Puppet Place
Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) Award recipient
BBC Bitesize Regenerators Group Award winner
Commissioned Artist, Wye Valley River Festival (2026)

Areas of Practice

Found Object Theatre • Shadow Puppetry • Object Manipulation • Puppet Design & Making • Giant Puppets • Visual Theatre • Community Arts • Creative Facilitation • Early Years Practice • Playwork • Podcast Production

Selected Awards, Commissions & Residencies

2026 – Commissioned Artist, Wye Valley River Festival

2024 – Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) Award

2022 – BBC Bitesize Regenerators Group Award

2021–Present – Resident Artist, Puppet Place

2021 – Early Years Artist in Residence, Bristol City Council

2016 – Puppetry Residency, Horse + Bamboo

Selected Performances & Exhibitions

2026 – PULSION – Puppeteer & Visual Artist

2026 – The Rehearsal – Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival, The Cube

2026 – The Secret Keeper – Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival, The Cube

2026 – Giant Seahorse, Dragon & Totem Puppets – Wye Valley River Festival

2026 – Wooden Puppets Exhibition – Bristol Harbour Festival

2025 – Metamorphosis – Puppet Place

2024 – The Rehearsal – Puppet Place

2018 – The Sacred Fire Exhibition – PRSC Studios, Bristol

2018 – The Sacred Fire – FEAST Festival

2016 – The Secret Keeper – BOO Festival

Community Practice

Creative Producer & Editor – Freedom Kids Podcast (BBC Bitesize Regenerators Group Award)
Playworker – Felix Road Adventure Playground
Early Years Creative Practitioner & Researcher – Bristol City Council
Making & Believing Research Project – Take Art
Creative Play – CreativeShift, Trinity Community Arts
Designed and facilitated creative workshops for museums, libraries, schools, festivals and community organisations across the UK

Selected Clients & Partners

Arts Council England • Puppet Place • Bristol City Council • Wye Valley River Festival • Bristol Museum & Art Gallery • Libraries Unlimited • Take Art • CreativeShift • Trinity Community Arts • BBC Bitesize • Shambhala Festival • Boomtown Festival • FEAST Festival

Education

MA TV Scriptwriting
MA Screenwriting
BA Performing Arts
Circus Training, Hanoi, Vietnam
Traditional Vietnamese Dance, Hanoi, Vietnam

Professional Development

Arts Council England DYCP • Merlin Puppet Theatre • Horse + Bamboo • Gretchen Maynard-Hahn • Izy Bristow • Sian Kidd • David McGoran • René Baker • Jacques Lecoq • Philippe Genty