Kontiaisten joulukuu 2021 was a daily changing slow-theater puppet diorama located in a non-commercial display window in the center of Turku. Every night a change in the diorama would happen, and the story would unfold daily one animated picture at a time for the whole month of December, like an advent calendar.

The large scale project involved six animatronic puppets and their miniature environment. The set showed a cross-section of a Moles’ burrow, and the story centered around the everyday life of the Mole and their friend the Woodlouse in winter, with meeting up and celebrating with old friends and making new ones unexpectedly.

In 2022 the Moles returned in a smaller version of the original, with four static dioramas instead of thirty-one animated ones.

Kontiaisten joulukuu on Instagram:
www.instagram.com/kontiaisten

Kontiaisten joulukuu on YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@kontiaistenjoulukuu2661

The team
Concept, production, overall visual design: Essi Santala
Puppet maker: Hanne Lammi
Prop design and realization: Tonja Goldblatt
Motors, robotics: Henri Sareskivi
Script and webpage: Sade Lahti
Set builders: Karoliina Vuorinen, Jesse Poskiparta, Ida Salonen
Story: The team
Production: The team

Partners
Finnish Cultural Foundation
City of Turku: Sytytä Turku! -project
Turun teatterisäätiö
Arts Promotion Centre Finland
Monitori at Market Square Turku
Tyrvää College of Crafts and Design, Set Construction

Thanks
Timo Laitinen
Mauri Mäkelä
Arja Valkonen-Goldblatt