This monster will be projected onto the walls of the National Library. Photo: Events ACT.
It will be like Aardman, but paper.
Stop-motion puppet animations, the work of Canberra artists, will be projected onto The National Library of Australia during next year’s Enlighten Festival.
Giovanni Aguilar, a Colombian graphic designer, and Eleanor Evans, an Australian visual artist, met while studying a masters of stop motion animation in Barcelona, Spain. They moved to Australia after graduating and started work building their own studio.
Their new project, The Page Turner, features characters entirely made from paper to “transform the entire library into a giant book”.
“The Page Turner is the story of a character getting inspired by reading,” Eleanor explained at the Enlighten media launch this week.
“His name is The Page Turner, a young Australian of the past, diving into different books and developing his sense of self to eventually become a writer and write his own story, which he’ll then pass on to the next generation.
“Our materials we’re using in this project are entirely paper.”
Giovanni explained how they’ve engineered their puppets with folds in the knees and elbows so the “paper basically slides from some places to others”.
“We also try different techniques dying the paper and using tie dye and different inks to bring vibrant colours to the animation.”
For other parts, such as the heads, hands and shoes, they use paper clay – made by combining traditional ceramic clay with paper pulp.
For The Page Turner, the artists created an enormous rice-paper dyed monster littered with big googly eyes to “transform the entire Library facade”.
“Hopefully, people will feel like the library is staring back at them,” Eleanor said.
Best of all, months of repair work to the library’s Leonard French windows has finally wrapped up. So unlike Enlighten 2025, the outside of the building won’t be hidden behind scaffolding.
The National Library of Australia during Enlighten 2025. Photo: Events ACT.
This year’s festival, from Friday, 28 February to Monday, 10 March, attracted nearly a quarter of a million visitors to the city and generated about $17 million in local expenditure.
The Page Turner will be accompanied by a host of what Events ACT describes as “original architectural projections and bold creative collaborations”.
Parliament House will be dressed in illustrations from Philip Bunting’s book Democracy!, a work that’s been published in more than 40 countries and translated into almost as many languages.
In what is almost 1984 speak, the Museum of Australian Democracy will stay open late during Enlighten as the fictional “Department of Memories”. More details will come early next year.
The Museum of Australian Democracy will become the fictional ‘Department of Memories’. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
The National Gallery of Australia will be illuminated by works from Grace Kemarre Robinya and Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, while the National Portrait Gallery will present the animated work – Queens of the Desert – by Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey.
“This animation will transport you into Whiskey’s world and into the heart of the Australian desert landscape of the artist’s hometown of Indulkana on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands,” a statement reads.
Last, but far from least on the list, is Questacon, which will host a touring exhibition from Museums Victoria – Illuminate: How Science Comes to Light – promising “vivid hands-on activities and interactive exhibits”.
“This exhibition will have you bending light, blending colours, dancing with shadows, and transforming your reflection.”
Beyond the projections, Mark Seymour of Hunters & Collectors fame will join forces with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra to showcase beloved classics including Holy Grail and Throw Your Arms Around Me in orchestral arrangements.
Local filmmakers will have 10 days to write, shoot, edit and produce a seven-minute film before the finished results are shown in the Senate Rose Gardens during short film festival Lights! Canberra! Action! on Friday, 6 March.
And if you remember the immersive art exhibition about Vincent van Gogh that popped up on top of the heritage fountains in 2022, we’ll have something similar next year too.
Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius was created in collaboration with Museo Leonardo da Vinci in Rome and `isn’t your typical stroll through an art gallery’.
“Engaging all the senses with sights, sounds, scents, touch and taste, the intricate chronological narrative – woven through the streets of Florence, the canals of Venice and the grandeur of Milan – recreate the ambience of the Renaissance and is meticulously curated to unveil the life and human side of Leonardo,” says The LUME in Melbourne, where it was on show last year.
“As visitors navigate through the vast 3000m² multi-sensory gallery, they will also gain a profound understanding of the inspirations, innovations and enduring impact of the maestro.”
Enlighten Festival 2026 runs from 27 February to 9 March, 2026.
