Papercutting on Stage: Kamishibai 紙芝居 Workshop

Papercutting on Stage: Kamishibai 紙芝居 and Paper Theaters introduces participants to theatrical storytelling with paper. The workshop draws inspiration from kamishibai 紙芝居, a Japanese form of street theater in which a storyteller presents a sequence of illustrated cards in a small wooden frame, as well as Victorian paper theaters, miniature printed stages with interchangeable scenery and characters.

Participants will explore how layering, framing, masking, and revealing can create suspense, movement, and narrative. Using a range of papercutting techniques, each participant will design and construct a multi-layered, artist-book-style stage in which a story can unfold. Tips, tricks, and resources will be provided. This workshop is open to participants of all experience levels.

This workshop is part of the Cutting East to West exhibition. Presented in collaboration with members of the Guild of American Papercutters (GAP), Cutting East to West invites visitors to discover the precision, imagination, and cultural stories held within a single sheet of paper.

About the artist

Born and raised in France, Béatrice Coron briefly studied at the Lyon École des Beaux-Arts and studied Mandarin Chinese at Université Lyon 3. Before launching her artistic career in New York in 1984, she held a variety of jobs—including shepherdess and truck driver—and worked in tourism while living in Egypt and Mexico for one year each, and in Taiwan for two years. She later worked as a tour leader in China for more than a decade.

For the past thirty years, Coron has collected memories from individuals and communities to create iconic silhouettes through artist books, public art, papercuttings, and animations. Her work invites viewers to enter a narrative through artist books and to encounter fine art through theatrical methods. She creates environments for words and thoughts that encourage audiences to wonder, ponder, and discover a poetic vision.

Her public art installations have been presented in the United States, Hong Kong, and France. Ranging from freestanding works to architectural elements, these projects use paper, Tyvek, metal, glass, stone, and mixed media. She also collaborates with developers to develop concepts and oversee the fabrication of ironwork, including railings, balconies, fences, and seating areas.

Coron’s artist books are held in major museum collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and The Getty. She shared her story in a TED Talk in 2011 and created two album covers for Dave Matthews. She continues to explore and be inspired by the many possibilities of papercutting.