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Its giant puppets have shocked, dazzled and amused millions of people around the world, but one of Melbourne’s best-known arts bodies may soon be snuffed out.
The Footscray-based not-for-profit Snuff Puppets which, along with depicting goats, puppies and babies, has explored dark themes such as species extinction, is itself facing doom after the state government withdrew funding.
Founder and CEO Andy Freer says he is “devastated” that Creative Victoria has declined to renew his 34-year-old organisation’s long-standing Creative Enterprises Program annual grant of $112,000.
Freer says Snuff Puppets’ $40,000-a-year grant from Maribyrnong Council is not enough to fund the company’s operations. Unless a white knight is found, the company may have to close.
“I feel personally rejected,” said Freer. “I’ve been with company since the beginning, so it feels like it’s personal.
“It’s been an amazing journey, but it feels like it’s not the right time to stop, we’re still peaking.”
Freer is proud of a work ethic that has seen Snuff Puppets making and performing puppets with locals everywhere from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Brazil. One video, Human Body Parts in London, has attracted 160 million views on YouTube.
In a statement on Facebook, Melbourne’s East African Women’s Foundation said Snuff Puppets’ funding loss was devastating for many communities in Melbourne’s west, and urged the Victorian government to reconsider.
The foundation said members of the Somalian community had worked with Snuff Puppets since 2021. “Our stories have been shared and our young people have connected with their culture in creative and joyful ways,” the foundation said.
Snuff Puppets is seeking new funding, including an appeal for tax-deductible donations, for when a six-month bridging grant from Creative Victoria expires in June.
The 500 puppets stored in their headquarters, the historic Footscray Drill Hall, might be sold or thrown out if Snuff Puppets folded, Freer said.
But he is more concerned for the hundreds of artists who would lose work and opportunities. “So many artists got their start with us,” Freer said.
Most of the income from Snuff Puppets gigs went to pay its artists, Freer said.
A state government spokesperson said its Creative Enterprises Program was supporting 81 organisations, including 10 for the first time, such as L2R Next Gen dance program in Footscray. The funding process was highly competitive, and the latest round reflected a need to be more equitable and diverse.
According to the government, Snuff Puppets is eligible to apply for other Creative Victoria programs.
Freer said: “We understand that there needs to be renewal and bringing on younger, fresh companies. [However], we represent this practice of excellence which ticks all their boxes working with diverse cultural organisations, [a] diverse pool of artists.”
Freer said Snuff Puppets was often provocative. “We don’t exclusively do puppets for children. We want to show stories of taboo subjects like sex, death and corruption.”
The company’s name reflects how years ago, they would sometimes use fire in shows, and joke that the puppeteers might be destroyed too, or snuffed out.
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