Robin Frohardt
Known for her rich aesthetic and highly detailed constructions, Robin Frohardt is an award-winning artist and director living in Brooklyn. Her narrative-based film, puppetry, and sculpture use recognizable materials — often trash — to create richly detailed worlds that make magic of the mundane and highlight the trivialities of daily life. Her theatrical work has earned her a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Creative Capital Award, and multiple Jim Henson Foundation Grants.
Her play THE PIGEONING, hailed by the New York Times as “a tender, fantastical symphony of the imagination,” debuted in 2013 and continues to tour at home and abroad. Her follow-up project THE PLASTIC BAG STORE premiered in Times Square in 2020. Her short films have been the official selections at multiple film festivals, such as the Telluride Film Festival and the Aspen Shortsfest, where she won The Ellen Award and an honorable mention in the animation category.
Shopping Center Parking Lot
July 2025
Robin Frohardt will be developing Shopping Center Parking Lot, a live-cinema performance that blends puppetry, prose, live music, and intricate handmade cardboard sets. This speculative non-fiction piece, grounded in reality yet deeply reflective, offers a poetic meditation on our relationship with the natural world. Having grown up in the land of big box stores, Shopping Center is Frohardt’s attempt to reconcile the predicament of being born a soul in a body raised in a Walmart.
Artist-collaborators part of this residency include:
- Jorge Couisneau, Video & Projection Designer
- Admiral Grey, Puppeteer
- Caryl Kientz, Puppeteer
- Freddi Price, Composer
- Chad Raines, Sound Design
This residency culminates in a work-in-progress showing of Shopping Center Parking Lot. At this showing, Frohardt will present excerpts from her developing project, share highlights from her residency, and offer insights into her creative process.
Frohardt’s residency is a partnership between ArtYard and Pomegrante Arts.
