The AVIAMA association, whose final statutes were published in September 2011 during the 50th anniversary of the Charleville-Mézières puppet festival, aims to promote our cities on an international cultural level through cooperation that will enable better support for the puppetry arts.

This cooperation network seeks, on the one hand, to pool the experiences of the participating cities in order to promote themselves jointly. AVIAMA will join other international organisations such as UNESCO and, more specifically, others linked to the puppetry arts such as UNIMA (International Puppetry Union), which is based in Charlevilles-Mézires.

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Winners of the Puppets & Mobility 2025 grants.

CALL FOR AVIAMA GRANTS 2026

Puppets and mobility

The International Association of Puppet-Friendly Cities (AVIAMA), founded in 2012, brings together cities and local governments from around the world that share a deep commitment to the art of puppetry. Convinced of the importance of culture in local development, AVIAMA member cities support puppetry through festivals, museums, theatres and artistic companies, thereby strengthening their cultural identity and international visibility.

Together, these cities form a global network of cooperation and exchange, working to promote creativity, research and innovation in the puppetry arts.

OBJECTIVES

The AVIAMA International Scholarships have the following objectives:

• To support the creation of new works by emerging artists and innovative companies;
• To encourage research projects that contribute to the evolution of puppetry;
• To promote training and professional development in the field of puppetry arts.

The grants are open to individuals and organisations from all over the world.

There is no age limit, although the Jury will give special consideration to students and young professionals.

Projects should preferably be developed in one of the AVIAMA member cities, although exceptional proposals from other locations may also be considered.